I Left My Heart in the Ocean
by DontStopBelieving4
Summary: Clary is just a normal girl from Hawaii who loves to surf. When Jace literally drops into her life, she realizes that sometimes you have to roll with the waves. All Human. AU
1. Chapter 1

This was my favorite place in the world. Just laying on my stomach, on my surfboard, out past the line up, letting the current take me wherever it wanted. The sun heated my skin as I rested my head on my crossed arms. I had been surfing since I was old enough to stand up on a board. Living in Hawaii, surfing is a way of life. My mom plopped me on the front of her board every morning until I was old enough to ride my own board.

My mom and I definitely didn't look like two women who had lived in Hawaii their whole lives with our bright red hair, green eyes and pasty skin, but my mom's parents moved here just before they had her so this was our home. She worked three jobs to support us while I was growing up and I sometimes didn't see her until late at night, but there wasn't one morning that we missed hitting the waves. We would go early, just before the sun came up and beat all the surf schools and tourists that would crowd the water later in the morning. I lived for mornings on the water with my mom.

Now that I had moved out and was working two different jobs of my own, our morning surf trips were few and far between. Every once in a while, we would meet at our favorite surf spot, early in the morning when we both needed to relax.

Today was one of those days, but I was lying on my board without my mom next to me. It was mid afternoon and the swell had died down, so the waves were inconsistent and not too big. Every once in a while, I would ride a wave in, just to paddle back out again. Most of the surf schools had cleared the water and it was mostly locals in the line up. I opened my eyes and noticed there were only a few other people in the line up and they were at least a hundred yards away. Looking back to where the waves were forming, I saw a good-sized wave forming on the outside and decided to paddle in a little ways so I could catch this wave.

I sat up on my board, straddling it and sitting back so the nose of the board was raised up out of the water. When the wave came closer, I sat back further on my board and whipped it around so I could start paddling. Glancing back over my shoulder, I started paddling harder. When I felt the wave forming underneath me, I grabbed the rails of my board pushing up onto my toes and hopped to my feet. After I gained my balance, I started carving the wave. I turned so I was facing the wave and rode down the line. When I got about halfway down the beach, someone dropped in on me and I had to bail out. The wave crashed on top of me, holding me under for a second. I felt my leash tug before I swam back to the surface and pulled my board back to me.

I climbed back on my board and searched the water for whoever dropped in on me. I was pissed. It was the number one rule of surfing. You just don't drop in on another surfer, especially when I was having a ride as good as that one. I paddled into shore and noticed a man pulling his board out of the water. I immediately knew this was the culprit, but was stopped in my tracks when I got a good look at him.

He was straight out of a surf magazine. His tan skin glowed in the afternoon sun and a tribal tattoo covered his left bicep. With his golden, shaggy hair that fell just above his shoulders, he looked like he grew up on the beaches of California. His board shorts rode low on his hips and revealed that V-shape that was just about making me drool.

Before he turned and saw me ogling his gorgeous body, I yanked off my leash, stuck my board in the sand and stomped over to him. He had just plopped down in the sand and was starting to apply wax to his board when I stood in front of him, blocking his view of the waves.

"Who the hell do you think you are," I asked as I crossed my arms in front of my chest and popped a hip in a defensive stance. "I don't know where you're from, Cali, but around here we don't drop in on other people. You could have killed me." Cali stared at me with a smirk and I noticed his piercing gold eyes. I wasn't backing down. "Do you speak?"

"Wow," he said shaking his head and looking away for a moment. "You really don't like people messing with your wave, do you?"

"Of course, I don't." I threw my hands up in exasperation. "It's common sense. I don't know the rules where you're from, but I would never drop in on someone. It's not safe and there's just a certain way things are done in the water."

"Okay, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"You're right. It won't happen again because if it does, I won't think twice about breaking your board."

He let that sink in before flashing me the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. This guy was trouble if he could make my temper go down with just a smile. I nodded, signaling that I was done talking and turned to leave.

"I'm Jace, by the way," he yelled after me.

"So," I said over my shoulder. "See you later, Cali. Don't forget what I said and be safe out there."

I made my way to my board and decided it was time to head in. My shift at the bar was starting soon and I wanted to get the salt off of me before I had to deal with drunk tourists all night. I worked at one of the hotels downtown during the day as a bell girl. I was the only bell girl on the island, but I could keep up with the boys any day. I had to work even harder to prove myself, but I loved that job. At night, I worked at a bar on the beach. It was popular among the locals, but the occasional group of tourists stumbled in. It sucked having to work two jobs, but in Hawaii, it was common. I still had my mornings and afternoons to surf and do what I love.

I was yanking my board out of the sand when Jace came running up to me.

"Hey," he shouted as he skidded to a stop, spraying sand all over my legs. Now that we were standing, I could appreciate how tall he was. He stood at least six feet tall, which made me, at five-three, very short. I had to lean my head back to see his face. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Yeah, and I'm not planning on it either," I said as I put my board under my arm and headed to my Jeep.

"At least let me buy you a drink to make up for the whole drop in incident."

"Um, no thanks." I tossed my board in the back of my Jeep so it hung out the back window. I took the back seats out of my Jeep the day after I bought it when I was sixteen. There was no need for them and I needed room for my board. My board trumped people every time. "Look, I'm sorry for blowing up on you. I seriously doubt we'll see each other again, so let's just agree to leave it alone and separate amicably."

"All right, fine, but I guarantee we'll see each other again."

"Well, that doesn't sound creepy at all." He shook his head and his hair shook with it sending droplets of water everywhere before settling back above his shoulders. I got in the driver's seat and started the car. Jace stood next to my open window smiling at me. It was infectious and I couldn't help but smile back. "Aloha, Cali."

I backed up out of my space and headed down the road to my house that I shared with my best friend, Isabelle and her brother Alec. Isabelle and Alec moved to Maui in high school and I instantly befriended Isabelle. Being the obviously Irish girl in a mostly Hawaiian high school, I knew how hard it could be for a new kid in school. I taught her how to surf once, but she didn't have the heart for it that I did. Isabelle and Alec were from California, but not the beaches. They were from the valley, in Northern California where there were farms on top of farms on top of farms. Their dad moved out here to work with the pineapple plantations to improve their irrigation systems. They were really the best friends I could ask for and more like siblings than friends. Alec owned the beach shack on the beach where I usually surfed and Isabelle worked at the hotel with me.

I pulled into our driveway and unloaded my board, dropping it on the front lawn so I could hose it off. Once all of the sand was off of my board, I leaned it up against the side of the house and made my way inside. Isabelle was standing at the stove cooking something that looked relative to mush and I tried to sneak past her before she saw me.

"Clary," she shouted and I froze. "Come try my pasta."

I groaned and turned around to see my best friend holding up a fork with what I assumed was the pasta she was talking about. I loved that girl but she couldn't cook for shit. I grimaced before taking a bite and trying to pretend that it didn't taste like death.

"Okay, I have to go get ready for work," I said as I gulped the mush down.

"Fine, I know you don't like it. Alec had he same reaction." She turned the burner off and tossed the pot in the sink. "How were the waves?"

"Great, until some asshole dropped in on me." I said as I made my way down the hall to my room with Isabelle on my heels.

"Was he hot?"

"God, Isabelle, I don't know." She raised an eyebrow at me and I conceded. "Okay, fine, he was hot, but I'm never going to see him again, so it doesn't matter."

"Fine, don't acknowledge the fact that you're hot yourself and he probably asked you out, but you said no."

I grimaced and changed the subject. "Are you guys coming to the bar tonight?" Isabelle ignored the fact that I changed the subject and I appreciated it.

"Yeah, our cousin from Santa Cruz is in town so we're bringing him."

"Cool." Isabelle left me to get ready and I hopped in the shower.

After I showered and dressed, I walked to work since the bar was just down the street from our house. The bar was already packed and I could tell it was going to be a busy night. I got right to work behind the bar mixing drinks and pouring beers. The crowd was mostly locals and most of them were regulars, so I already knew their orders. I performed the normal bartender duties, listening to the heartaches and troubles of my customers trying to give solace where I could.

Isabelle and Alec finally made their way to the bar a couple of hours into my shift. I started pouring their regular drinks before they even made it to the bar.

"Hey, girly," Isabelle said as she leaned against the bar. "Looks pretty busy tonight."

"Yeah, it's a little crazy," I said before I walked to the other side of the bar to drop off some drinks. "Where's this cousin of yours?"

"Alec is introducing him to someone in the band." She waved me off. Across the bar I could see Alec talking to Jordan, who played the ukulele in the band, but I couldn't see whom he was with.

I got a bunch of new orders and went to work mixing those drinks. When I was finished, I spotted a new customer sitting at the bar and made my way over to him. It wasn't until I looked up that I recognized who he was.

"Hey," he said with a bright smile.

"Hey, Cali."

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter and are looking forward to the rest of this fic. I'm actually really excited about this story and I hope you are too! So tell me what you think and leave a review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mortal Instruments or any of it's characters.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jace was sitting on the other side of the bar. How did he know where I worked? I didn't even tell him my name and this wasn't exactly a hot tourist spot. Tourist usually only stumbled across the place after drinking enough liquor to drown forty men. I immediately became flustered and started searching for Alec or Isabelle. They would help me, but Alec was still talking to Jordan and Isabelle was probably in the middle of the crowd on the dance floor.

"W-what are you doing here," I asked as I scrambled to fill a drink order one of the waitresses needed. "What do you want to drink?"

"Oh, just water is fine," he said. I placed a glass of my famous pineapple water and leaned against the bar, thankful that the drink orders were slowing down. "I'm not stalking you or anything. My cousins brought me here. I just moved here and they wanted to show me around."

"Wait, you're Isabelle and Alec's cousin?" I was shocked. Isabelle hadn't mentioned her cousin's name and now that I knew it was Jace, I wouldn't be able to completely avoid him. Oh, Iz was going to love this.

"Yeah, do you know them?"

"Do I know them? I live with them. Isabelle is my best friend."

"Wow, what are the chances?" His smile lit up the room and I couldn't ignore it. He was infectious. "So, you must be Clary. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together today at the beach. I mean how many redheads live in Hawaii and can surf like that?"

"Two actually. My mom taught me how to surf." He nodded and took a sip of water. Isabelle and Alec finally made their way to the bar, saving me from further conversation with the surf god sitting in front of me.

"Oh, I see you've already met," Alec said pointing at us.

"Yeah, this is actually the girl I dropped in on at the beach today," Jace said in response. So, Isabelle knew my side of the story and Alec knew Jace's side. This should be interesting.

"The one who told you off and kept calling you Cali? Yep, sounds like Clary."

"Gee, thanks," I said as another order came in. I glanced at the clock and my shift was about to end. My mom had called earlier and asked if we could go out early in the morning to hit the waves and I wanted to get straight to bed when I got home. I finished the drinks I was making and started my end-of-shift process. "Okay, guys. Are you staying for a while? I'm going to head home."

Isabelle and Alec were staying, typical, but Jace ran after me when I got to the door.

"Can I give you a ride home," he asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks, but I walked. It's not that far." I pointed in the direction of my house.

"Can I at least walk you home?" I conceded and continued walking without giving him an answer. We walked in silence for a few minutes before Jace started playing twenty questions. "So how does an Irish girl end up growing up in Hawaii?"

"My mom's parents moved here before she was born. They were living in California and saw an opportunity here. They opened a restaurant that my mom still runs."

"That's cool." His hand brushed mine and I flinched. "My parents owned a surf shop in Santa Cruz. After they died a few years ago, I took it over. I'm out here to open up another one and I'm also trying to get noticed by Quiksilver to surf on their tour next year."

"Wow, you're that good?"

"Maybe. I don't know if I can make it yet. I've never tried to go pro before."

"So, you're from Santa Cruz?" He nodded. "Have you ever surfed Mavericks?"

"Every year since I was sixteen." I gasped and my mouth hung open. That was one of the most difficult waves in the world to ride. "Have you surfed Jaws?"

"Yeah. My mom and I are a tow team. She tows me in every year."

"That's pretty amazing." We stopped in front of my house and neither one of us turned to leave. As much as I hated admitting it, Jace wasn't so bad, even if he was from California. "Listen, I really wanted to apologize for this afternoon. I honestly didn't see you and I knew that was going to be the wave of the day so I couldn't let it roll past me."

"It's fine, really. I may have gone a little overboard when I yelled at you." We were stalling and we knew it. I didn't want to leave, but I knew he probably should. "Have you surfed Break Wall yet?"

Break Wall was this awesome surf spot just off a port and the waves were unlike any other. It was definitely my favorite spot and it didn't get too crowded.

"No, I haven't. I just got in a couple of days ago and basically followed the surf schools, which was a bad move because they snaked all of the good waves." I laughed because it was true. You wanted to go to surf spots that the waves were consistently bigger than five feet or the tourist surf schools crowded the line up.

"Well, I'm going out early tomorrow morning with my mom if you want to join. We're going before the sun comes up, but I'm off work tomorrow at the hotel so I'll be there until at least eleven."

"That sounds awesome. I'll see you there."

"Great." I turned to leave, but Jace caught my wrist and pulled me in for a hug. I ignored the forwardness of the gesture and melted into his warm body. He had a lean surfer body that held me strongly. This was bad news. Jace was definitely going to be trouble.

o.O.0.O.o

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to meet my mom at Break Wall. I had already loaded up my board the night before so all I had to do was put on my bikini and go. Sometimes, there's just not a need for other clothes. I rarely wore anything over my bikini or shoes for that matter. All I needed was my breakfast, my bottle of water and a towel.

The drive to Break Wall was peaceful because it was much too early for the tourists to be out and about. I pulled into the spot next to my mom's Jeep and knocked on her window. Her smile lit up her face as she hopped out of her car to join me on the other side of the car. We hadn't seen each other in a few days and I had missed her. When we got to each other, we hugged like only a mother and daughter can. We got our boards out of our cars and headed down to the beach.

Once we were on the sand, we knelt down and my mom handed me some wax. We watched the waves for about ten minutes while we waxed our boards and stretched. The sun was just peeking above the horizon and I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

My mom and I exchanged a look that said we were ready. We grabbed our boards and walked into the water. When the water was up to my knees, I grabbed the rails of my board, hopped on and started paddling out. I found the channel, where the waves weren't breaking, to make paddling out easier and made it out to the lineup in about five minutes. We were the only ones out there and it was the most peaceful feeling.

Once I paddled out to a satisfactory spot, I sat back on my board, straddling it and watched the waves. My mom pulled up beside me and did the same.

"How's it going, Clary," Mom asked while she circled her legs under the water. A set was building, but I wanted to sit and relax for a moment before I took any waves in.

"Good," I said honestly. "Whale season starts next week and I start my job with the whale foundation so that should be fun. I got promoted this year, so I can lead the tours on the boats."

"So you're adding that job to the other two?" She knew better than anyone that it was almost impossible to only work one job on this island, unless you had a college degree, which I had happily forgone when I was eighteen. It just wasn't for me. I would much rather work three jobs, surf and be happy than have a degree and work a nine-to-five job that made me miserable.

"Yeah, but this one is strictly volunteer based. We get tips, but that's about it. I do it because I love it. I love watching the whales and I love teaching people about them. I love watching people's faces light up when a whale breeches right next to the boat."

A couple of surfers had joined our line up, but they weren't anywhere near us.

"I think that's great, Clar." We let another set roll by. They were only going to get bigger and I was waiting them out. "I know you don't really want to work in the restaurant, but I might need some help when high tourist season hits."

"That's fine. I've been thinking of trying to find another morning job and quitting the hotel." I looked out to the horizon and a whale breeched in the distance. I smiled knowing that it would be a regular occurrence for the next three months. "I love it there. I do, but I can't stand the new boss. He thinks he knows everything and I've had to work twice as hard because I'm a girl. I'm never one to shy away from a challenge, but it's bordering on harassment and I feel like I could be an asset somewhere else."

"You know I've always supported you in whatever you wanted to do, honey. I get it. I would love to have you for the breakfast shift."

"Okay." A nice wave was forming on the outside and we exchanged a look. We had been surfing together for so long that we almost didn't need words to communicate about waves. Certain expressions showed that a wave was special and that we should take it, but I couldn't take it and leave her here. "Want to ride that one together?"

"Party wave?" She raised her eyebrows and I nodded as we laughed, sat back on our boards and turned to paddle.

We paddled and paddled hard as the wave formed underneath us. At the same time, we both popped up on our boards and road the wave. We turned into each other so we were close enough to hold hands. When we gained enough balance, I hopped off of my board and onto hers. This was something I had been doing since I could remember. When I first learned to surf, we would ride tandum, with me on the front of a long board and Mom on the back. It was almost second nature for us to be on the same board. We rode the wave until the wave turned to whit water and bailed out. My board was dragged by my leash and I pulled it back to me.

When we made it back to the lineup, I hopped off of my board so I could slick my unruly hair back from my face and let it fall on my shoulders.

As I resurfaced, I noticed someone had paddled out and sat next to us. He was talking to Mom and then I realized whom it was, none other than Cali himself, Jace.

"Clary, do you know Isabelle and Alec's cousin," Mom asked as I climbed back on my board.

"Yes, Mom," I smirked in Jace's direction. "I didn't expect you out this early."

"I'm not used to the time difference yet," he explained. "It's almost noon back in California. Plus, I figured I could teach you few things out here on the water."

"We'll see about that."

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it and I love feedback so please tell me what you think and leave a review! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

The three of us fell into a nice rotation, switching off and taking waves one at a time for another hour. I finally got to observe Jace in the water and gain an appreciation for how good he actually was. There is a sort of rivalry between Hawaiian surfers and Californian surfers so if I admit that someone is good, especially someone from California, I really mean it. There was no doubt in my mind that he could go pro if that was really something he wanted to do.

When I was sixteen, Roxy approached me and gave me a sponsorship. I jumped at the opportunity. Who wouldn't want to travel the world and compete doing something they loved? About three months into our tour, I wiped out and I wiped out hard. I was hospitalized and in a coma for two weeks from the injuries I sustained, effectively ending my short stint as a pro surfer. I still had scars on my back from where the waves thrashed me against the reef and the stitches that stitched up the gash on my head.

I loved being a pro surfer, but these days, I just surf because it's what I love to do. It gives me solace and it's where I belong. My mom used to tell me that she swore I was part mermaid because I always wanted to be in the water when I was a baby. If I was crying and wouldn't stop, she would take me down to the beach and just hold me in the water. I usually stopped crying instantly.

After I had ridden a good ten waves, and shredded, I might add, I let myself lie on my board and drift, as usual. I loved the sounds of the water lapping up onto my board and I could hear the waves crashing on the shore. Lying on my back, on my board, letting the sun heat my skin always made a feeling of peace wash over me. This was truly where I belonged and I didn't care if I never worked a steady job for the rest of my life if I could surf every day.

Suddenly, I had a sensation of being flipped and found myself underwater without my board. I popped my head through the surface and saw a laughing Jace on his stomach, on his board next to me. Mom had obviously left. She knew not to bother me while I was drifting.

"Do you make a habit of pissing off people you share the lineup with," I asked as I grabbed my board and slid back on so I was sitting up. Jace mimicked my motion and sat up on his board as well.

"Not normally, but you're so fun to mess with," he smirked and splashed me with water, which I reciprocated. I never said I was overly mature. "By the way, you're really good. How are you not pro?"

"I was pro, for about three months, but that was years ago." I started drumming a beat on my board looking for a distraction. Those three months were the best time of my life, but what followed after I haven't talked much about.

"What happened?" Jace drifted closer to me and his leg brushed mine under the water. "There's no way you just quit."

"Uh, I got hurt, bad." I lowered my head avoiding his gaze.

"And they dropped you?" I raised my head to see his face, which looked confused. I understood. Most people didn't understand why I didn't just pick up where I left off, but it was so much more than just recovering physically that made me make my decision.

"No, I walked away." I took a deep breath. The only other person who knew all of my reasons was my mom and I didn't know why, but I felt like I needed to tell Jace, like he would understand. "It kind of took me a while to get back in the water."

"That bad?" His hand came up and brushed my hair aside revealing my whole face. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I wiped out." Deep breath. "We were in South Africa surfing for one of the major championships and I was leading after the first two heats. The waves were piping that day, but they were inconsistent. In my last heat, I took a wave that was choppy and faster than I expected. When I got in the barrel, I got behind it and it closed out on me, taking me under and holding me under. The wave thrashed me against the reef, but I didn't panic. I had been held under so many times that I knew how to handle it. When I found an opening, I made it to the surface, only to be pushed under again and I tombstoned for a minute before my leash came loose. The waves pushed me down hard and I hit my head on the reef. That's when everything went black. I woke up two weeks later in a hospital with a nasty gash on my head and a concussion." I moved my hair to show him my scar. His fingers moved over the raised pink skin and I shivered.

"After that, the nightmares started and I couldn't bring myself to get back in the water until one day, my mom put me in the car and brought me here. She gave me her long board and guided me into the water. I didn't even surf that day. I just sat on my board in the lineup and reminded myself why I love the ocean; why it's where I belong."

I lowered my head and slyly wiped away the stupid tear that had escaped. I couldn't believe that I had told Jace that story. Not even Isabelle and Alec new the whole story, they just new that I got hurt and quit the Roxy team. They didn't know that it took me months to get back on a board and even longer for me to surf like I used to.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I just told you that. I didn't mean to bum you out so early in the morning. I hardly even know you and now you know how screwed up I am."

"Hey," Jace reached over and took my hand, which I stared at, debating whether or not to yank it back. Ultimately, his touch calmed me for some reason so I left it alone. "Don't apologize. Thank you for telling me."

I nodded and then I realized he was still holding my hand and I discreetly let go of his. "Well, that was really heavy for dawn patrol." He smiled and shook his head sending water everywhere. "Why don't we do something fun? Have you ever ridden tandum?"

"Like you and your mom?"

"Well, kind of, but with one board." I didn't wait for him to answer as I started paddling for the next wave. Something inside me sparked after I told Jace my story. Suddenly, I wished this was a date, but since that wasn't the case, there was no problem with some shameless flirting.

I rode the wave in and took my board out of the water, sticking it in the sand and left it there while I went to my Jeep to get my long board. I never knew what kind of mood I was going to be in so I always brought both boards and now I was glad I did. When I got back to the beach, Jace was standing next to my discarded board with a curious expression, looking at my long board.

"So how do you do this," he asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Okay, this is how my mom and I used to compete," I explained. "I think it's really fun, but it takes a while to get the timing right." He nodded for me to continue. "So basically, I'm going to be on the front and you'll get on the back. Your feet might hang off a little, but that's okay."

"How do you expect us to fit on one board?" He still looked skeptical, but this was one of my favorite things to do and I wanted to show him.

"Obviously, we're going to have to overlap. We can paddle out on our knees and situate ourselves once we're out there. Think you can handle that, Cali?"

He smirked and shook his head as he took the board from my arms. He put the leash on his ankle since he would be in the back and walked the board into the water. He held it steady so I could climb on the front and sit on the front. He went to the back of the board, pushing it forward and hopping onto the back to rest on his knees. We found our rhythm paddling out to the lineup.

Once we made it past the break zone, we stopped and I turned around to face him and straddle the board. I took a minute to admire him in the morning light and shook my head to clear my mind.

"Okay, so I'm going to lay down on the front and you're probably going to have to lay your chest on my lower back so we can fit." He raised his eyebrow in question and I waved him off. This was my idea and I knew what I was getting myself into, I think. "You're going to pop up first and kind of lean back so we don't nose dive while I pop up. It's really simple once we get the timing right."

"Sounds like fun," he agreed. "I've seen it done before, I've just never done it. I think it's more common here than in California. By the way, no one from California says 'Cali.'"

"Well, I'm not from California now am I?" His smile flashed and I thought I had just found my new favorite hobby, making Jace smile. "Okay, why don't we try to take a wave?"

He nodded in agreement and I turned back around so I could lay down first. Once I was on my stomach on the front of the board, I waited for Jace to lie down, but he took a moment before he grabbed the rails of the board next to my hips to lower himself onto the board between my legs. I heard him clear his throat and I couldn't help the girly giggle that passed my lips.

I spotted a wave forming on the outside and pointed. Jace nodded against my lower back and I couldn't ignore the heat he sent through my body. We used our arms to turn the board and start paddling. We synchronized our strokes as I looked over my shoulder to check the wave. As it formed underneath us, our strokes became more urgent. I yelled back at Jace to pop up and he did, leaning back so the nose of the board lifted slightly. As soon as I felt he was up, I popped myself up and noticed that he surfed goofy-footed, with his left foot in front, so we were facing each other.

He smiled at me and raised his arm in victory as he started to turn us down the line.

"Cross-step backward," he shouted over the wave. I crossed my feet and made my way back to him where he grasped my waist and held me to him. It was a wonder we were still standing, but then I realized all of the balance was on Jace because my feet weren't even on the board anymore. Before I knew what was happening, Jace jumped off of the board, over the back of the wave, with me held firmly to him. I'm pretty sure I yelped before we hit the water.

When we made it to the surface, Jace shook out his hair, whipping it to the side. He still had a firm grip on me where we were treading water and his smile was infectious. I was laughing and he was shining light from his eyes that bore into me. We were both breathing heavily and I noticed his gaze fall on my mouth.

Without warning or preamble, Jace's mouth descended onto mine.

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_A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I'm enjoying writing this story so much, so I really hope you're enjoying it! Let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_

_P.S. If you don't know me already, I tend to post whenever I finish a chapter so I don't have a set schedule. When I'm inspired, I usually write until I can't anymore, so sometimes that means two chapters in one day. Sometimes, I can't write for a few days, so please be patient with me! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

I froze. What was happening? I had met Jace the day before and I had already spilled my worst memory and now he was kissing me in the middle of the ocean. When he felt that I wasn't responding, he pulled away. My eyes stayed closed, but I could feel his stare. I stuttered before gathering the courage to place my hands on his shoulders and lightly push him away.

"Uh, I have to go," I mumbled as I ducked under the water and started swimming to shore. I made it to the beach, quickly grabbing my short board and towel before running straight for my Jeep.

Jace yelled after me, something about my board, but I ignored him and drove straight for my house. Isabelle might not be home, but Alec definitely would be because he always took Saturdays off. I would just have to avoid him and if that meant leaving my board in the car and waiting until he left to leave my room then so be it. I slammed my car in park when I pulled into the driveway and jumped out of my car, running for my bedroom as soon as I hit the front step.

Alec was probably still asleep since it wasn't even noon, but I still snuck around the house trying to avoid him like a teenager who just broke curfew tries to avoid their parents. I finally made it to my bedroom and sunk onto my bed after locking my door. Then, and only then, did I allow myself to catch my breath.

What the hell was I doing? I had allowed myself to flirt with Jace. It was my idea to get on the same board with him. I put myself in that situation, but when he kissed me, something inside me snapped and it scared the hell out of me. It wasn't that I didn't want him to kiss me that was the problem, it was that I did want him to. He had awakened something inside of me after knowing me for a day that my closest friends couldn't even see.

I needed to be in the water that was for damn sure. Someone was bound to start looking for me at some point and there was no way in hell I would be holed up in my bedroom when they did. Quickly, I changed out of my wet bathing suit and into a dry one before running out of the house and hopping into my Jeep. I knew I couldn't go anywhere near Break Wall, so I decided to drive to Guardrails, which wasn't really a beach, but the waves were fun and usually consistent. There was no way Jace knew about Guardrails after being here for only a few days, especially since you had to park on the side of the road and climb down the rocks to get to the water.

When I pulled up to Guardrails, there were only a few other cars. Perfect. I grabbed my board, only then realizing that I left my long board with Jace. Maybe he would just drop it off at my house and I wouldn't have to see him. Doubtful. Shaking the thought from my head, I hopped down the rock path to the tiny strip of black sand that led to the water. The waves were small, but I didn't really need to shred right now. I just needed the ocean like a desert needs rain.

The paddle out to the line up was easy and I was sitting on my board, on the outside before long. The sun was high in the sky and I leaned my head back to let it warm my face. The warmth that spread through me immediately reminded me of how it felt when Jace touched me. How was it possible that he had that effect on me? I hardly knew his last name and he already knew so much about me and I couldn't deny the pull we had toward each other.

Sitting up on my board, I knew I probably wasn't going to do any actual surfing, but I just needed to be in the water. There's something so beautiful and peaceful about the ocean. Many people understand it, but not many people can actually experience the effects the ocean has on me. I have saltwater running through my veins.

For the next hour, I watched the surf schools take new people into the waves for the first time. As much as they crowded the lineup, it was really amazing to watch someone who just couldn't get the timing or balance right for so long stand up for their first time and watch the smiles on their faces.

I remember the first wave I caught by myself. I was about seven years old and that's the wave I count as my own first wave because before then, my mom was always either on the board with me or having to push me into the wave because I wasn't strong enough to paddle and catch a wave on my own. This one day when I was seven, Mom and I were out for dawn patrol like every morning and I just decided I was going to catch a wave by myself. I had a long board, which is so much easier to catch waves with, and while my mom was paddling back out after riding a wave in, I turned and started paddling for my own wave. I saw my mom stop in the middle of the break and watch me. I don't remember anything but finally standing up on the board and riding the wave to where Mom was waiting. The water was shallow enough to stand and my mom basically tackled me when I reached the surface after jumping off my board. It was one of the best and proudest moments of my life.

After an hour or so on the water, I checked my watch and realized I really did need to get home and get ready for my shift at the bar. I finally made it home with about an hour to get ready before my shift started. I quickly rinsed off my board and noticed that my long board was leaning against the house. Great, so Jace had been there and probably told Isabelle and Alec all about our morning. I rinsed off in the outdoor shower before making my way to my bathroom and actually showering. Isabelle intercepted me in the hallway before I could avoid her.

"How was your day," she asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, just great," I said trying to squeeze around her, but Isabelle was about five inches taller than me and just a tad stronger than me so I had no chance. I huffed when she pushed me back. "What do you know?"

"I know that you and Jace belong together."

"Isabelle, I've known him for one day. There's absolutely no way to know if we 'belong together' or not."

"What are you so afraid of? He obviously likes you and you haven't had a boyfriend or even been on a date since you were sixteen and started the Roxy tour. There's more to life than surfing Clary and Jace could be that more."

"I don't want to talk about this, Iz. Do I like him? Yes, but I can't just jump into something after knowing him for a day. Who does that?"

"I don't know, Clary, but when he dropped off your board, he looked confused and almost sad. I've never seen him like this before."

"He was probably confused because he's probably never had a girl say no to him. I don't know him, Iz."

"Then, get to know him." She turned to walk away before I could respond.

"It's not that simple." I mumbled as I walked into the bathroom.

The hot water from the shower brought new life to me and I was ready for my shift in no time. I decided that I would stop avoiding Jace, but I needed to make it clear that we were just friends. I realized that being his friend would be a good thing. We could surf together and he did understand me because he was from my world. Knowing Isabelle, she would bring Jace to the bar tonight and it would give me the perfect opportunity to set some boundaries. I wanted Jace in my life, but right now, we just needed to press the brakes.

Saturdays at the bar were never as busy as Friday nights because all of the locals had to work their own jobs facilitating the tourists. It was relatively easy work as I listened to the band play island music and filled drink orders occasionally. When I saw Isabelle and Alec walk into the bar, I immediately searched for tan skin and golden hair, but Jace wasn't with them. To say I was disappointed would have been an understatement.

Isabelle and Alec ordered their usual drinks and started having a good time while I was stuck behind the bar. I couldn't help but wonder where Jace was, what he was doing and I immediately scolded myself because I shouldn't care. When my shift was over, I said goodbye to my friends and started my walk home. It didn't take me long to walk the half mile to my house. As I walked up the front steps to the door, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Sitting in one of our chairs on the front porch was Jace.

"Hey," he said as he stood from the chair. I opened my mouth to speak, but he put a hand up to stop me. "Listen, before you say anything, I want to apologize for this morning. I saw an opening and I took it. I was having so much fun and I really like you, so I wanted to apologize for the way I handled the situation. However, I won't apologize for kissing you because I'm pretty sure that's the best decision I've made in my life."

"Jace," I whispered and I realized we were now face to face and Jace had my face cupped in his hand. "I don't know if I can do this. We barely know each other."

"Does that matter? We can get to know each other. It's not that difficult and I already feel like I know you, Clary."

I took a deep breath hating the fact that my mind had been changed so quickly, but standing there with Jace just felt right and I couldn't deny it. "Okay, but we need to slow down. We're moving a little too fast for me right now. What if we don't put a label on what we're doing and just spend time together, getting to know each other?"

"I think they have a name for that. It's called dating."

"Ah, I said no labels." He smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Will I see you in the lineup tomorrow morning?" I nodded before he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. It was sweet and innocent, but it left me wanting more. "Don't forget the long board and I'll see you for our date in the morning. I'm taking you to breakfast."

"Fine." I smiled and wrapped my arms around him before he made his way down the steps and walked away.

I could do this. Isabelle was right. I hadn't even given a guy a second look since I was sixteen and maybe I should give Jace a chance. It wasn't like we were going to get married tomorrow and I wanted to spend time with him, so why not? Jace and I owed it to ourselves to see where this could go, but I had no doubt in my mind that I could fall for Jace Lightwood and fall hard.

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all the reviews so keep them coming! There will probably be another update today, but we'll see! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

I pulled my board out of the water and walked up the beach a little bit before dropping in the sand next to my towel and waiting for Jace. Surfing with Jace that morning was amazing. We just surfed and had fun like we had been doing it for our whole lives. There were no expectations and we just let loose. We were getting pretty good at tandum riding and Jace was even able to lift me onto his shoulders once fore about three seconds before we wiped out.

Standing up, I ripped my leash off of my ankle and wrapped it around the fins of my board. Jace dropped his board on the sand next to me and mimicked what I was doing. I then grabbed my towel and started drying my hair before throwing it up into a messy bun. There was no way I could make it do anything else.

"So, where are we going for breakfast," I asked as we made our way to my Jeep.

"My house," Jace said matter-of-factly. I raised my eyebrows in question. "I decided it would be better to just make ourselves breakfast, especially since breakfast is the number one tourist meal."

"All right, you have a point." I looked around when we stopped at my Jeep and tried to find his car. "Where's your car?"

Jace was holding his board under one arm and my long board under the other as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have a car, yet. I walked, but it's no big deal."

I tossed my board in the backseat and he followed suit with the long board. "Get in." He smiled and tossed his board on top of mine before walking around to the passenger side and climbing in.

I hopped in the car and turned over the engine before hooking my phone up to the sound system and turning on my Sublime Pandora station. It was the perfect station for after dawn patrol. I followed Jace's instructions on how to get o his house and ten minutes later, I pulled up in front of a little cottage in the mountains. There was a tiny shed off to the side and Jace headed that way with his board, leaning it up against the side. I met him at the front door and followed him inside. I tossed a tank top on over my bathing suit because I felt the need to cover up at least a little bit and sat down on a bar stool.

"So, what are you making," I asked as he set a cup of coffee down in front of me.

"Spam and eggs," he replied with a grin. I took a sip of the familiar Kona coffee and sighed. "I also got a Baby Gold pineapple because Isabelle said you could live on them."

"I see you're going local on me now."

"Well, if I'm going to live here, I might as well act the part." He went to work on breakfast, which I was very excited about because he was making my favorite breakfast.

"Please tell me you're a better cook than your cousin." I grimaced as he set a plate with eggs and pineapple on it down.

"Anyone is a better cook than Isabelle." He smiled at a memory. "One time, she and Alec were visiting us in Santa Cruz and she brought her Easy Bake Oven with her. I didn't know it was possible to screw any of that up, but somehow she did and it was the worst brownie cooked by a light bulb I had ever eaten."

My hand flew up to my mouth to cover my laugh. "She almost burned our house down one time trying to boil water. Yet, she keeps trying to cook. I don't get it."

"She's definitely determined, I'll give her that much." Jace sat across from me at the island in his kitchen.

I looked around his house and it appeared to be quite minimalist. There was a couch in the living room and it looked like there was only one bedroom. Everything was immaculately spotless, which is hard to do when you're tracking in sand every day.

"So, when does the surf shop open," I asked as I finished my breakfast and sipped my coffee.

"Well, I have to build up my inventory before we open and that might take a while." I raised my eyebrows in question. "Do you want to see what I'm talking about?"

I nodded as he stood from his chair and offered me his hand. He pulled me out the side door and led me to the shed next to his house. Jace threw the doors open and I realized what he used the shed for. A quiver of surfboards lined the walls organized by height. None of them were painted, but they were beautifully shaped. My jaw dropped as I ran my hand along the boards and admired the craftsmanship. In the center of the room, a shaping table was set up and I realized that Jace had shaped these boards.

I ran my hand along the board that was in progress and noticed that this was a special board. It wasn't fiberglass like all of the other ones; it was made of Koa wood, which is what the ancient Hawaiians used to make their boards out of.

"These are beautiful, Jace," I whispered and I thought he didn't hear me until he came up next to me and smiled. "So, the shop is really a board shop?" He nodded. "And you're going to do custom paint jobs?"

"I'll make a custom boards, too, but sometimes it's easier to just have a board ready to go and paint it. Some people are very particular about the shape and the shape of the tail, so they'll need customs."

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen." I was truly amazed. I had expected a typical surf shop that sold clothes and wax and had a few boards lined up in the back. What Jace was doing was art. "Do you realize how many people are going to flip for these boards? They're amazing. Put me down for one."

"No charge." I raised my eyebrows at him. "I'm serious, you don't need to pay me."

"At least let me pay you something." He shook his head and I knew he wouldn't budge. "You suck, but if you think you're ever paying for a drink at the bar, you're crazy." He laughed and shook his head. There it was again, that stupid smile that I could live off of.

"Why don't you pick one out and we can paint it." I'm pretty sure I squealed as I jumped up and down.

I walked down the line of boards and stopped around the boards that looked to be about seven feet long. Not necessarily a short board and not a long board, my mom had always called these fun boards because you could still carve a wave with them, but you didn't have to deal with a short board. Fun boards were my favorite type of boards to ride and I had coincidentally broken mine about a month before. I had put in order in with my normal board shaper, but that was going to need to be cancelled.

I pulled the boards out one by one, feeling their weight and getting a feel for their shapes. When I found one that I liked, I put it on the ground and laid down on top of it to see how I fit. It was comfortable and wasn't too wide. This was my board.

Jace smiled as I stood from the ground and handed him the board. He put it under his arm and motioned for me to follow him. All of his paint was outside, so we would go there. We had to use a spray painter similar to one you would use to paint a car, for the base color.

"Okay, so after we lay down the base color, we can add any kind of design you want," he explained as he placed the board on a stand so we could spray it. "After we do all of the designs, I'll gloss it and then a few days later, you can take it in the water."

"Jace, this is seriously so cool," I shamelessly fawned over him and his boards. "I've always wanted to paint my own board."

"So, what color do we want your board to be?" He motioned to the selections and he had just about every color imaginable.

I examined the colors and immediately eliminated a few, like black. That was just a bad idea to begin with. I would never understand how someone could surf on a black board. I feel like it would burn me, but I suppose most black boards I see are only black on the bottom and have some other color offset the black on the top. Each time I get a new board, I try to get a new color. It was getting harder and harder since I've had about twenty-five different boards in my life. I finally spotted a color that I was surprised I had never had.

"I've never had a purple board," I said as I handed Jace the paint bottle. He nodded and smiled as he fastened the bottle to the sprayer. He handed me a mask and turned the machine on.

I stood behind him as he started moving his arm back and forth, evenly coating the board in the purple paint. When he was finished with the bottom, he turned to me and asked if I wanted to try on the top. I nodded eagerly as he went to flip the board over. When he came back over to me, he handed me the sprayer and stood behind me holding my arm up and showing me how to time the motion to correctly distribute the paint. I followed his motions and painted the top of my new board.

When the paint was evenly applied, Jace turned the machine off and removed his mask.

"We have to wait a day before we do anything else to it," he explained. "So, I'll put it in the shed to dry and we can put the designs on later."

I nodded and followed him to the shed again. I looked down at my watch and realized that I should probably get going. Jace followed me to my Jeep and I leaned my back against it as he stood in front of me. Did I want him to kiss me again? Of course, I did, but I had made it clear that we were slowing things down.

"Do you work tonight," he asked, stalling for time, I'm sure.

"No, Sunday is my one night off," I explained. "My mom usually has Alec, Isabelle and me over for family dinner."

He nodded in understanding. "Dawn patrol tomorrow?"

"I start my job with the whale foundation tomorrow, so my mornings are spoken for. During whale season, I have to surf in the afternoons."

"Well, my schedule is flexible, so I can meet you whenever. Just call me when you're ready."

"Okay, but I'm picking you up and driving you there." I poked him in the chest to show him I meant business. He conceded with a smile and a nod. "I guess I should get going. My mom is expecting us in an hour and I have to pick up Alec and Isabelle."

"Will you go on a real date with me?" He had a hopeful look in his eyes that I found hard to reject, so I didn't.

"I would like that." He smiled as he leaned down to brush his lips against mine.

In a moment of bravery, I grasped the back of his neck, reaching up on my toes and deepened the kiss. His hands fisted at my waist and pulled my body flush against his. My arms wrapped around his neck as my feet left the ground when Jace stood up straight. I smiled against his lips as she lowered my feet back to the ground. I released him and placed one more kiss on his lips before pulling away.

"Wow," Jace said breathlessly. I laughed and stepped back against my Jeep. He smiled at me and kissed me one more time, like just one would never be enough. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." I reached up to kiss his cheek because I couldn't let him have the last word and ran around to the driver's side before hopping in and starting the engine. I waved as I pulled out of his driveway.

"Don't forget the long board." I heard him yell as I drove down the road and headed toward my house.

The entire drive home, I couldn't get the dopey grin off of my face. Jace made me feel alive and was constantly surprising me. I knew I was going to be challenged with him and I liked that. He was going to make my life one hell of a ride, that was for sure.

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far because I'm definitely loving writing this one. It's very special to me and I'm happy to share it with all of you!_

_Let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

I sat in my Jeep with the engine running while I waited for Isabelle and Alec to be ready. I searched my music library for some feel good music and blasted the stereo before honking twice indicating my irritation. Isabelle and Alec finally walked out the front door, locking it behind them and got in the car.

Alec always sat in the back seat because he insisted that Isabelle wore a seatbelt. I knew it wasn't necessarily safe for anyone to go without a seatbelt, but there was a makeshift seatbelt in the back that would work even without the actual seats. Plus, Mom's house was only three minutes away.

The wind whipped through my hair as we made our way to family dinner. After Isabelle and Simon moved out here in high school, my mother's house became their second home and she basically adopted them in the process. We were a weird family, but a family nonetheless.

I pulled my Jeep into the driveway of my childhood home and turned the car off. We all hopped out and headed for the door. We never knocked and always just let ourselves inside because my mom rarely locked the door. Rambling about meaningless things, we rounded the corner to the kitchen. I froze. My mother, who had never so much as dated my whole life, was sitting on the counter with a guy settled between her legs and her tongue down his throat.

Alec cleared his throat and Mom scrambled to separate herself from the guy and straighten herself. I stood there with my mouth hanging open and pointing at her. Isabelle was trying not to laugh next to me and Alec was leaning against the wall with a giant smirk on his face.

"Um, hi kids," Mom stammered as she took a step closer to us. The guy stood behind her looking at the ground with a hand on the back of his neck. He was embarrassed, that much I could tell and I felt bad for him for about a millisecond.

"Hey, Jocelyn," Isabelle said as she was enveloped in Mom's embrace. Alec followed, but I was still frozen. "Clary." She snapped her fingers in my face and I was broken out of my spell.

"Mom," I questioned and tilted my head in the direction of our guest.

"Clary, this is Luke," she began as he walked up and put his arm around her. "He owns the bookstore next to the restaurant."

"And?"

"And, we've been dating for a few months." She bit her bottom lip waiting for me to blow up, but oddly, I didn't feel angry.

Sure, I was shocked, but I thought that this was great for her. My dad had really messed her up when he left the week after I was born and she had dedicated her life to raising me. She never did anything for herself and I thought it was about time she did.

"It's nice to meet you, Luke," I said extending a hand to him. He took it and smiled as Mom smiled up at him and I could see how deep she had fallen. Good for her.

Isabelle and Alec introduced themselves before Mom said that dinner was ready. Everyone grabbed a dish and took it to the table. Luke sat next to my mom and held her hand on the table. I noticed that Mom had made spam fried rice, my favorite and laughed at the thought that she was trying to butter me up.

I saw how Mom and Luke looked at each other and immediately my mind went to Jace. I had seen that same look in Jace's eyes earlier that day and I felt my cheeks flush. Of course, leave it to Mom to make it worse.

"So, what do you guys know about Clary and your cousin," she asked Isabelle and Alec.

They began singing in unison, "Jace and Clary, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Mom and Luke laughed as I lowered my head in my hands and hid my face, which was probably a darker shade of red than my hair at the moment. Mom patted my hand and I finally looked up from the floor.

"He seemed like a very nice boy," she assured me. "I assume that's who you were blushing over earlier?"

"Ugh, Mom," I huffed. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Clary, grow up a little. I'm trying to have an adult conversation about your relationship."

"There isn't a relationship to talk about. We're just friends."

"Yeah, friends who make out," Isabelle mumbled under her breath and I glared at her.

"Can you just tell me a little bit about him," my mom pleaded.

"Oh, I'll tell you all about him, Jocelyn," Isabelle piped up. I assume Alec kicked her under the table because she yelped and waved him off.

"I hate you," I said with a permanent glare directed at her.

"You love me." She placed both of her arms on the table and faced Mom. "So, he's from Santa Cruz and is a year older than me. He surfs, obviously, and is opening up a surf shop in Old Lahaina in a few months."

"A surf shop," Mom asked. "Like what kind a surf shop?"

"He shapes boards, custom and otherwise."

"Really? Is he any good?"

"I'm not really an authority on surfboards, but Clary might have an answer for you." Isabelle turned and faced me while my mom raised her eyebrows looking for an answer to her question. She knew that Jace and I were customizing a board for me.

"Yeah, he's really good," I said finally smiling as I remembered Jace showing me his shed and painting my new board. "I canceled my order at our normal board shaper. He's that good."

"Well, I would love to take a look sometime," Mom said and the conversation ended as we all dug into our dinner.

She means well, but my mom sometimes doesn't know where to draw the line. I had never had a boyfriend and she knew that so she didn't know how to handle the situation, not that Jace was my boyfriend because he wasn't. Slow, remember? Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I'll actually start to believe it. Doubtful.

The night went on as we got to know Luke and learned that he had been crushing on Mom for years. It didn't surprise me. Mom was beautiful and everyone knew it. Unlike me, she was taller and thinner with sharper features that made her a classic beauty, but it was her passion for life and the things she loved that made her the best person I knew. Luke surfed as well, which made me happy that my mom would have someone else to surf with in the mornings. Maybe the four of us could go out on the water one day.

By the end of the night, Luke had fully earned my approval. I hugged him as we left and my mom whispered her thanks in my ear. How could I not be happy for them when they looked so completely in love?

Once we were on the road, I turned to Isabelle, who was trying to look innocent.

"What the hell was that back there," I asked her.

"Clary, calm down," Alec warned from the backseat, but I ignored him.

"I'm sorry that I'm happy that my best friend has found someone that she likes," she said defensively. "Face it, Clary. You like him and he likes you and I don't understand why you're hiding it from Jocelyn of all people."

"I'm not hiding it, Iz. I just don't want to get my hopes up. Yeah, we're having fun, but what happens when he's been here for a few months and stumbles across the countless girls in the lineup who are a way better catch than me?"

"You're being ridiculous. You've always guarded yourself when it comes to guys and I just don't get it because you're the best person I know and anyone who thinks otherwise is freaking crazy. I just want you to be happy and I think you and Jace can make each other happy."

"Fine. I get it." I gave up in this fight because Isabelle just didn't get it. She was the pretty one. She was the one who had guys falling all over themselves to be with her. Me? Not so much. I was the quiet one who stood behind the bar because I was too afraid to put myself in the middle of the mix.

Jace was so much like Isabelle that it amazed me. They were both the outgoing and free spirited people who took life into their own hands. He moved three thousand miles away from his home to start a surfboard business in a place that was crawling with them and he would most likely be successful.

After I pulled into our driveway, Isabelle and Alec hopped out of the car as I kept the engine running. When she realized I was making no move to get out of the car, Isabelle peeked her head inside the passenger window.

"Clary, I really am sorry," she whispered. "Please come inside."

I reluctantly turned the car off and followed her inside. Alec had already gone to bed, typical, and Isabelle and I sat on the couch watching movies and eating ice cream. We may fight like sisters, but at the end of the day, we're best friends. Nothing could ever come between us that a little ice cream and a girly movie couldn't fix.

I had to be up early the next morning for my job with whale foundation. We weren't going to start the tours yet, but the store was going to be open so we could advertise some before we started taking people out on the boats. We also had to train the newbies.

Isabelle and I had fallen asleep on the couch, which caused my to have a massive kink in my neck the next morning. I made myself a quick breakfast and ate my daily half of a pineapple before getting dressing in my khaki shorts and polo shirt with the whale foundation's logo. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and put my flip flops on because I had to actually wear shoes.

I made a call to the hotel and told them that I would not be continuing work there and made my way to the foundation. This would always be my favorite time of the year. For three months, humpback whales made the waters between Maui, Lanai and Molokai their home to mate and have babies. As a foundation, we kept track of the whales that made their way to our waters and when they had their babies.

I saw my first whale of the season a few weeks before and immediately felt giddy at the thought that I would see them every day for three months. When I got to the store, I started helping set up the displays and familiarized myself with the tour schedule for the season. I was schedule to work mostly sunrise tours, which were my favorite because you were more likely to see more whale activity in the morning.

When I finished my shift at the store, I made my way home so I could change and be ready to go out on the waves with Jace. For the last hour, I hadn't been able to stop smiling. I didn't even have to be around him anymore for him to effect me. I was pulling on my bathing suit when I dialed his number and waited for him to answer.

"Aloha," he said into the phone and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped. He was trying so hard to act like a local and I found it endearing, but being from Santa Cruz, the lifestyle wasn't all that different.

"Hey, Cali, I just got off of work," I said as I tied the strings on my bathing suit and made sure to emphasize where he was from.

"Okay, I was just finishing up on a board."

"Ooh, will I get to see it?"

"Maybe, if you're lucky." We laughed together as I threw a tank top over my bikini and grabbed my wallet and keys. "Will you have time after we're done to paint your board?"

"Probably not. I have to be at the bar at four and it's already one. We'll probably be out there for a couple of hours. Will you be at the bar tonight?"

"I don't know. I'll have to see what other plans I have tonight." I tried not to be disappointed, but it was too difficult. "I'm just kidding. You guys are the only people I know. Of course, I'll be there."

"Cool." I did my best at sounding indifferent. "I'll be at your house in ten minutes. Be ready."

"Will do. Don't forget the long board." I laughed as I exited my house and put my two boards in the Jeep.

"Is that going to be our thing now?"

"Of course."

"Okay, then, I'll see you in a few."

"I'll be waiting."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! What do you think? If any of you are wondering, Clary will have some artistic ability, but it will be a little different and something that she will experience with Jace, so look forward to that in the next chapter. Once again, thanks! :)_


	7. Chapter 7

A week later, I finally had time to paint my board with Jace. It was Sunday so I had the day off and we spent the morning surfing with Mom and Luke. Jace had promised my mom a board as soon as his shop opened and gave her full creative control over the design of the board. Jace and I had grown closer in the past week. We surfed almost every day together and he usually made it out to the bar with Alec and Isabelle.

We still hadn't pushed the issue of what exactly we were doing because we had literally known each other for a week, but it felt like a relationship and we acted like we were in a relationship. Jace was amazing. He never ceased to amaze me in everything he did. We were getting so good at tandum riding we were considering entering a competition for fun.

Somewhere along the way, Jace started driving my Jeep. How the hell did that happen? I never let anyone drive my precious Jeep. That thing was my baby. One day, after we were done surfing, he took the keys from my hand and walked to the driver's side. I just stood there, stunned and confused. When I got into the car, Jace reached over and held my hand between switching gears. So, now we switch off driving. I drive to the beach and he drives to his house.

I pulled Jace's board out of the back of the Jeep and leaned it against the shed. Jace came out of the shed carrying my new board and went around the back. I followed him, stopping when he placed the board on a stand.

"So, what are you thinking," Jace asked as I ran my hand over the board, admiring it.

"I'm thinking you give me whatever I'm supposed to use to paint it and let me have at it," I replied with confidence. I had always had a knack for drawing random designs and figured I could transfer that onto a board.

"Do you want a stencil or anything?" I put my hands on my hips and leaned my head back so I could see his face.

"Nope, just give me a brush or whatever and leave me be."

"Fine, whatever you say." He pointed to a row of paints and brushes lined up on a shelf. "Use whatever you want and most of the colors should show up against the purple." He turned to leave me to my board. "Oh, and we're going out to dinner when you're done."

"Like a date?"

"Of course, like a date, what else would it be?" He was still walking backwards into the house.

"You think you could have given me a little heads up? I'm definitely not dressed to be going to a restaurant." I looked down at my normal outfit, which consisted of my bathing suit and a tank top, and grimaced.

"Fine, we can stop by your house so you can get ready. Now, get to work."

"Aye, aye, captain." I gave a little salute as he chuckled and turned into the house.

As I searched through Jace's selection of paints, I picked out various shades of blue, white, pink, yellow and orange, with enough brushes for each color. I set the supplies down on the workbench next to my board and got to work. I worked with the blues first with a vision in my mind of what this was going to be. The brush moved over the board and the colors popped against the purple background. Once I had the basis of the design down in the blues, I turned to the white and started adding details. When that was finished, I moved on to the pinks, yellows and oranges.

After an hour and a half, Jace came out of the house just as I was finishing. I had paint smeared all over me, which I could care less about as I admired my work on my board. Jace handed a bottle of water with a smile and turned to look at the board. I watched as he examined the artwork that depicted rolling waves and a sunset in the background. The purple background played perfectly into the sunset as it creating a purple sky. I tried to decipher what Jace thought by his expression, but he wasn't giving anything away.

"Clary, this is amazing," he said. "When people see this, they're going to want you to do custom work on their boards."

"Oh, I don't know about that," I mumbled as I turned away from him to hide my red cheeks. "I was just messing around."

"I'm serious." Jace grabbed my waist pulling me to him and forcing me to look at him. "How would you feel about going into business with me? I'll shape the boards and you do the painting and designing."

"Jace, I can't do that. I'm not an artist or anything. I don't even know if I could do that again."

"Just think about it, okay?" He kissed my forehead and I melted into him. I nodded before wrapping my arms around his waist. "Are you ready for our first date?"

"I thought when you made me breakfast was our first date." I leaned back to look at him.

"I've decided that that doesn't count. This will be our first date, out in public, away from the waves or our houses."

"Okay, so where are we going?" He unwrapped my arms from his waist and started walking toward the house.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're really not going to tell me?" I stomped after him like the mature adult I was and followed him into the house. "How am I supposed to know what to wear?"

"I personally like you in what you're wearing right now, but you might need to put some actual clothes on."

"You're very funny, do you know that?" He laughed and dropped a kiss on the top of my head as he walked past me and plopped down on the couch.

"Of course, I'm hilarious. Have you met me?"

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't." He knew I was kidding as he feigned disappointment.

"Now, I know you don't mean that."

"Fine, I don't mean it, but that doesn't mean that you don't infuriate me sometimes." I looked at what he was wearing, a t-shirt and board shorts and wondered where exactly we were going. Most places were fairly casual so it could be anywhere. "Is that what you're wearing?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" He looked down at himself and smirked at me.

"Nothing's wrong with it. You look great." My face was definitely red. "I mean, I'm just trying to decide what to wear." He just kept smirking at me and nodded along with my rambling. "Stop looking at me like that." He threw his head back and laughed as I turned to walk out the door. "I'm leaving, so you better get your ass out here."

Jace ran out behind me and hopped in the passenger seat. He knew not to try and get the keys from me right now. The entire drive to my house, Jace tried to hold my hand between shifting gears because it had become second nature, but I was still flustered and it was hard to think when he was touching me. When I pulled up to my house, I told Jace I would be ten minutes and he started pulling my boards out of the car and hosing them off.

Isabelle and Alec were sitting at the counter, eating Chinese takeout, a staple in our home.

"Hey, Clary," Alec said. "Want some fried rice?"

I was about to decline his offer when Jace walked up behind me and did it for me. He told Alec we were going to dinner. Alec and Isabelle looked at each other, trying to hide their smiles and I pushed past them all so I could go get ready. I could hear them all snickering and talking about our date behind me, but I tried to push it aside and hide my nerves.

Sure, Jace and I had spent a lot of time together, but this was different. We were going out in public, without the waves to distract us. I couldn't run away claiming I had to get to work. We weren't going to be at the bar where Isabelle and Alec could act as buffers. This was just going to be me and Jace sitting at a table and eating. What if we realized we couldn't hold a conversation that had nothing to do with surfing? What if he realized I was a spaz and he could find someone much better than me?

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and took a few deep breaths. It was time to push my fears away and let someone in. Isabelle was right and we had talked in depth about what I was doing with Jace and what it meant. I didn't care if we didn't label it or if we were exclusive, but I had some questions that I was looking to get answered.

After I put on a miniscule amount of makeup and tried to tame my hair, I gave up on my hair and threw it up in a bun. I threw on a pair of shorts and a nicer tank top than the one I was wearing before. Deciding to go against the norm, I put a pair of strappy sandals on and examined my reflection. I looked different, but I was still me, which was all I could give Jace.

I took a deep breath and went back out into the kitchen. Jace was standing at the counter with a glass of water in front of him. I cleared my throat and he smiled at me before coming around the counter to stand in front of me.

"You look beautiful," he said as he raised his hand to my hair and pulled the rubberband out, letting my hair fall around my shoulders. He lowered himself to whisper in my ear, "I like your hair down."

My face was burning as I tried to direct my gaze anywhere but him. He smiled and his eyes lit up as he took my hand and led me outside. We tossed goodbyes over our shoulders at Isabelle and Alec and headed to my Jeep. I had the keys in my hand and tried to go to the driver's side, but Jace stopped me and took the keys from me. I guess I couldn't argue because I had no idea where we were going.

He opened my door for me and made sure I was safely inside and buckled before he shut the door and ran around to his side. Once we were on the road, Jace held my hand and I reveled in the feeling. I sat back and admired his profile as he focused on the road. His thumb moved back and forth over my knuckles and I realized that this was what I wanted. I wanted car rides with Jace and dinners and a life where we made surfboards together.

I smiled brightly and he noticed before I turned to look out the window. We pulled into Old Lahaina and I had a feeling I knew where we were going. Jace parked in a public parking lot and led me to one of my favorite burger joints. He held my hand as we walked up to the hostess stand and asked for a table.

Once we were sitting at our table, listening to the live music, I finally let myself ask some questions.

"How did you know this was my favorite place," I asked after the waiter to our drink orders.

"How else," he said. "I asked Isabelle." I laughed because he knew Isabelle would give him any information to give him an advantage.

"Okay, so I've been thinking about what you said about the boards."

"And?" He placed his hand on top of mine in the table.

"And, I think we should give it a shot." His smile lit up the room. "I mean, if I take the board out and people take notice, I would love to design boards with you."

"Yes!" He did a small fist pump and leaned over the table to place a kiss on my lips. "I'm so excited about this, Clary. I think we can really be doing something great with this."

"I think you're right." I smiled as he ran his thumb across my knuckles.

The rest of the night, we ate amazing burgers, listened to great music and watched the sunset from the window we were sitting next to. The restaurant sat right on the water and was two stories. We sat on the second story where the band and bar were set up. When we were done eating, we made our way to the bar because neither one of us were ready for the night to end.

I started to yawn as exhaustion took over and Jace suggested that it was time to go. We drove back to Jace's house in a comfortable silence, never loosing contact with each other. I walked him to his door and stalled for time, not wanting him to go inside and the most perfect date ever to end.

"So, what do you think," Jace asked. "Will there be a second date?"

"Oh, there will definitely be a second date," I said as I stifled a laugh.

"Good to know." He grabbed my waist and pulled me to him with his other hand holding the back of my neck.

His eyes darted between my eyes and my mouth before his lips found mine. My fingers wove through his hair and he rubbed my neck. He deepened the kiss and held me to him tightly. I pulled away finally and kept my eyes closed as I let the moment sink in.

"Do you want to come inside," he asked against my lips.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," I replied reluctantly and took a deep breath as he nodded in understanding.

"Okay, but I just want you to know that we don't have to do anything. I just want to wake up next to you."

I took a moment to think through what this meant. Did this mean that we were going to officially be in a relationship? I ultimately decided that all my questions could be answered later. Right now, I didn't want the night to end.

"Let's go."

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_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story and feel free to let me know what you think in a review! :)_


	8. Chapter 8

Sunlight shone through the blinds bringing me out of the best night's sleep I had ever had. I snuggled deeper into the warmth that surrounded me. Jace had given me a pair of his sweat pants and a t-shirt to wear to bed, so I was surrounded by his scent. Jace pulled me tighter into his chest as I breathed him in. My eyes fluttered open to meet his golden eyes and my breath caught.

"Morning," he whispered as he kissed my head. "What are you thinking about, pretty girl."

I laughed nervously as I turned to face him. "Us," I whispered.

"Oh yeah? What about us?" I sat up, crossing my legs and facing him.

"Okay, I know I said I wanted to slow down and that we didn't have to label anything, but I just wanted to know where your head is at right now."

Jace sat up and cupped my face with his hands. "As far as I'm concerned, you are the only one I want to spend my time with. I really like you Clary and I want you to be my girlfriend, but that's up to you."

"Really? You really want me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yes, crazy, I want you to be my girlfriend. Does this mean you want to be my girlfriend?" I jumped into his arms and we fell back onto the bed. I kissed him deeply and held him tight against me. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"You can take it as a hell yes." He chuckled and pulled my face back down to him. I may have let out a girlish giggle as I glanced at the clock noticing the time and jumping up quickly when I realized how late I was. "Shit! I was supposed to be at the foundation an hour ago!"

"Hey, calm down, it's okay." Jace started tossing my clothes at me, but I didn't have time to change. I grabbed my wallet and keys and bolted out the door.

When I was halfway to the Jeep, I turned back around to see Jace standing on the front porch smiling at me. I ran and jumped into his arms so he wouldn't have to lean down and kissed him hard.

"Break Wall later," I asked and he nodded. "Okay, I'll call you when I get off of work."

"Have good day." One more kiss for the road and I was off.

I rushed home to find Isabelle sitting at the kitchen counter, like she was waiting for me to get home. She raised her eyebrow at me and sipped her coffee. I rolled my eyes and rushed past her. Once I was in my room, I threw my uniform on and head back out to the kitchen.

"Little Clary, doing the walk of shame," she teased as I poured coffee into my travel mug.

"One: I hate when you call me that," I said as I walked around the counter. "Two: get your head out of the gutter because nothing happened. We just slept."

"So are you two like official now or something?"

"Iz, I really don't have time for this. I'm ridiculously late for work and I really need to go." I started out the door as she yelled to me.

"Fine, but we will be talking about this later, my friend." I shook my head as the door shut.

When I got to work, I was too late to work any of the boat tours, but I worked in the store for my shift. Luckily, I had never been late before so my boss didn't get too mad at me. I ended up having to work an extra hour to make up for being late. After a few hours of working in the store, I went out on a tour boat. I loved answering people's questions and seeing their faces light up when they finally spotted a whale.

I made a good amount of tips from my first tour of the season and got off with enough time to call Jace and surf.

I pulled up to Jace's house and hopped out when I saw him in the shed. Music was blaring and the machines were so loud he didn't notice me walking up. When I got close enough, I jumped on his back and kissed the side of his neck. He turned the sander off and turned over his shoulder, but before he could say anything, I took his chin in my hand and kissed him.

His smile was infectious as I hopped off of his back and he turned to face me. He leaned back against the bench and grabbed my hips pulling me to him. I settled between his legs and put my arms around his neck.

"Are you ready," I asked after he kissed me again. "I only have about an hour before I need to get ready for work." Jace smiled and tugged me closer as his lips ran up my neck and along my jawline. I ran my hands through his hair and tilted his head up so I could kiss him. "Or we could just stay here and hang out."

"No, let's go," Jace said. "I want you to try out your new board."

I pushed him in the chest. "Wait, it's ready?" I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

"Yeah, I glossed it last night while you were sleeping and it only needs to set for twelve hours, so your masterpiece is good to go."

I jumped up and down turning in circles. "Wait, I need fins and a leash."

"Already taken care of, babe." He smiled and I pecked his lips.

"I like the sound of that." I pushed away from Jace as he stood up straight and grabbed my board from the quiver. "Oh my God, it's gorgeous, Jace."

"Let's go try it out." He took the board from me and took it to the Jeep along with his board. He turned around and held out his hand so I tossed him my keys with a giggle.

Ten minutes later, we were at Break Wall and ready to hit the waves. I fastened my new leash for my new board around my ankle and put my board under my arm. Jace met me down at the water's edge and smiled at me before jogging into the water and hopping on his board. I followed him a few seconds later and paddled out to the lineup. The board glided over the water and the designs shone in the sunlight. Paddling a board that Jace shaped and I designed felt liberating and ultimately made me feel extremely proud.

I made it out to the lineup and sat up on the board. Jace had his board turned to the side so he could turn faster when the right wave came along and smiled brightly when I paddled up next to him. I circled my arms and legs in the water, letting the sun warm my skin.

"How does it feel," Jace asked.

"This board is amazing," I said running my hands over the surface. "You're so talented Jace."

"I just shape them, you're the one who made it beautiful." He reached under the water and caught my ankle pulling me closer to him. I shrieked before he put my foot on his board so we would stay close.

A wave was forming on the outside that looked like the perfect wave. I yanked my foot from his board and started to turn to catch the wave. Jace turned at the same time noticing that the wave was possibly going to be the ride of the day. I started paddling for the wave and Jace did the same about five feet away.

"Hell no," I yelled over to him. "I saw it first. Find your own wave."

"What," he yelled back. "No, I definitely saw it first. Why can't we share it?"

I didn't have time to answer him because the wave was forming underneath me and it was now or never. I grabbed the rails of my board and popped up for my first wave on my new board. I turned into the wave and rode down the line. When I saw Jace out of the corner of my eye, he was carving around me and ended up in front of me. I narrowed my eyes at him as we battled for the wave. Eventually, I jumped over the back of the wave, catching my board so it wouldn't hit Jace and climbed back on my board. I searched for Jace assuming that he finished riding his way down the line, but I couldn't find him.

Suddenly, he popped out of the water next to me, nearly flipping me off of my board. I gasped and clutched my chest as he laughed at how easily startled I was. When he slid back onto his board, I splashed him and shot him a glare I was sure could kill.

"What did I tell you about stealing my waves," I asked once we got back out to the lineup. I sat back on my board and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh, come on," Jace said as he pulled me closer to him. Before I could protest, he lifted me by the waist and sat me on the front of his board. My board floated away, but stopped when my leash caught. "You know we both saw that wave and we both shredded, so don't be so upset."

"Just stop stealing my waves and I won't get upset." I shrugged my shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"You're ridiculous." He kissed the tip of my nose and I couldn't help but smile. "How's the board?"

"Well it definitely shreds."

"I think that's more the girl riding the board than the actual board, but you look good on that board."

I checked my watch and frowned knowing that I needed to get out of the water. I flipped off of Jace's board and pulled mine back to me before sliding on and paddling for a small wave to ride to shore.

Twenty minutes later, I was pulling Jace's board out of the Jeep while he went in the shed to get something he wanted to show me. I hosed the sand off of the board before leaning it against the shed. Jace came out of the shed holding a piece of paper with a wicked smile on his face.

"Whatcha got there," I asked as I skipped over to him stopping in front of him. He handed me the paper and I read what it said.

It was an advertisement for Jace's new board shop, but when I looked closer I noticed that my name was on the flyer as well. The flyer said, "One Love Boards, by Jace Lightwood and Clary Fray." Under the name of the shop was a picture of Jace holding my board in front of him.

"How did you get this in a day," I asked still shocked that my name was on the flyer.

"I took the picture and designed the flyer while you were at work," he said as he put his hands on my hips and bent down so we were face to face and he could determine my reaction. "What do you think?"

"I think that I like seeing my name on something that I think is going to be so special, but are you completely sure you want to do this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. My parents built this business, but I know that we can make it something important and special."

"I think you're parents would be very proud of you, Cali." I stood on my toes and wrapped an arm around Jace's neck as I kissed him. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." He held me to him and I tried to pull away because I really did need to get ready for work. "I know, you have to go to work. I'll see you there."

"Okay, I'm off from the foundation tomorrow morning, so my mom and I are going out early. She invited you if you want to come."

"Awesome, I'll be there. Maybe we can go to the restaurant for breakfast or something. I'd like to see it."

"I think she would love that, and I wouldn't be totally against it either."

"It's a date, then." He kissed my cheek and let me go. "Now, go to work."

I kissed him one more time before getting in my Jeep and driving home to get ready for my shift at the bar.

So in the last twenty-four hours, Jace and I had become official and gone into business together. When I pulled in my driveway, I sat in my car for a few minutes and let everything that had happened that day sink in. I took a few cleansing breaths and wouldn't allow myself to freak out. All of my fears and reservations about Jace were threatening to rise to the surface, but I refused to let my first real relationship be ruined by my insecurities when he had given me no reason to be afraid.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! If you were wondering, Clary is 22 and Jace is 23. Once again, I just wanted to thank you all for reading and for the reviews! _

_Please let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, pretty girl," Jace said as he leaned against the bar and got my attention.

The bar was extremely busy that night for some reason and I was putting my best skills to the test with the bartender at the other end of the bar. All night, we had been throwing bottles at each other and sliding drinks across the bar. I couldn't leave my post for one second without fifteen more drink orders coming in. We were slammed, but I loved this kind of night. It was fun and exhilarating and gratifying at the end of the night when we went home with a bunch of tips in our pockets.

"Hey, what can I get you," I asked as I was pouring a row of shots for one of the waitresses.

"Just water," Jace shouted over the music and I set down a tall glass of ice-cold pineapple water in front of him. "You look busy."

"Gee, could you tell?" I smiled as I threw the drink shaker over my shoulder and shook a drink that was going to be passed down the bar. The other bartender and I had a system. I mixed the mixed drinks, while she stood at the keg and poured beers. "Are Alec and Iz here? She's mad at me at the moment."

"Why is she mad at you?" His smirk was so cute.

"Because I wouldn't talk to her this morning because I was too busy rushing out the door to go to work."

"Well, I'm sure she's over it." He pointed over his shoulder to where Isabelle was dancing with some guy that I had never seen before.

"You obviously don't know her very well. She tends to remember things and hold grudges."

"So, talk to her later. Problem solved." He shrugged his shoulders as if it was the easiest solution in the world.

"You're cute." I took the bar glasses in front of me and started shining them, thankful for the break I was being given from incessant drink orders.

"I know." He leaned over the bar and kissed me eliciting groans from the people around us. I giggled as Jace plopped back down in his seat.

"And cocky." I raised my eyebrows at him and popped a hip giving a little bit of attitude.

"No dear, confident. I'm extremely confident, never cocky."

"Whatever you say, Cali." He turned in his chair, looking out onto the dance floor and the band. His elbows were resting on the bar as he leaned his back against it. "You know, you don't have to stay here with me. Just because I'm working doesn't mean that you can't a good time."

He turned back around to face me as I wiped down the bar of the stickiness that was inevitable when we were so busy. "Who says I'm not having a good time?"

"You know what I mean, Jace. You can go out there and have fun."

"Clary, look at me." I directed my gaze at him and he nodded. "I like spending time with you and I don't care where it is. Whether it be in the water, at my house our even in this damn bar, I just want to be with you."

Well, when he put it like that, how could I refuse? I just smiled at him before shrugging my shoulders and letting him have his victory. I went to work making sure everyone was happy and their glasses were full, wiping down the bar occasionally. Jace sat at the bar, sending winks and smirks my way. Eventually, Isabelle and Alec came to take him away and introduce him to some people we went to high school with. Isabelle shot me a look that said we would be talking later.

I wanted to tell her, I really did. What I didn't want was for her to blow everything out of proportion. She means well, but she gets excited easily and I didn't want that excitement to rub off on me. Don't get me wrong, I was excited for this new adventure with Jace, but it was still new and I was still testing the waters.

The end of my shift finally came and I went in the back to close out my tabs and do my paperwork. I chatted with the other bartenders and waitresses as I calculated my tips and got ready to leave. I ended up making four hundred dollars in tips, so I would call it a good night. Grabbing my wallet, I walked out the swinging door to the main floor of the bar. I was supposed to find Jace when I was ready to leave so he could walk me home, but I didn't see him right away.

What I did see was Aline, a girl we went to high school with, basically straddling some guy sitting at the bar. The girl was ruthless and I shuddered feeling sorry for whatever guy was unlucky enough to be in her grasp. I continued my search for Jace and when I saw him, I froze. The chair Aline was leaning against turned slightly to reveal Jace sitting in the chair with Aline on top of him.

What the hell? I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I just stood there like an idiot with my mouth hanging open as some chick groped my so-called boyfriend. I was hurt and I just wanted to get out of there. Before Jace noticed me, I turned and walked out of the bar.

I heard Isabelle coming up behind me, but didn't stop to wait for her. When she looked back and saw Jace and Aline, her face grew angry. I shook my head telling her to back off and she did, instead wrapping an arm around my shoulder and leading me down the street to our house. We walked in silence because I wasn't able to form words. I wasn't functioning like a normal human being. I was just walking around like a zombie who had just gotten her heart ripped out of her chest.

When we got home, Isabelle sat me down on the couch before digging into our stash of heartbreak ice cream reserved for emergencies. It was the good stuff that was too expensive to waste on sad movies or a bad day at work. She sat down next to me and handed me a spoon before taking the lid off of the carton and handing it to me. I took a bite and let the creamy deliciousness wash the night away. After a few minutes of silence, Isabelle finally spoke.

"Clary, what's going on," she asked. "Why was Aline all over Jace?"

"Hell if I know," I said around a massive bite of ice cream. "I was supposed to find him when I was ready to leave and I found him, alright."

"It just doesn't make sense. They don't even know each other."

"Does that matter with a girl like Aline?"

"Well, no, but it should matter to Jace. He told me that you guys made it official this morning and you're going into business together. I just don't see him messing this up by cheating on you with Aline."

"I'm not saying that Aline wasn't doing anything wrong, but I didn't exactly see Jace try to push her away." I sank back in the couch and Isabelle did the same, throwing her arm around me. "Figures that I would finally meet a guy and let him in, only to last twenty-four hours."

"I think you need to talk to Jace." Alec came bursting through the front door looking panicked.

"Clary, you need to listen to Jace," he said breathlessly. "You don't know the whole story. I saw the whole thing."

"Why didn't you stop her or something," Isabelle got in Alec's face. I shoveled ice cream, ready to watch even more drama go down.

"I couldn't stop her from across the bar, but Jace is so distraught right now. He doesn't even know what happened and feels like an ass because you saw whatever you saw."

"Where is he," I asked, hoping he was outside so I could get rid of the rock that had decided to lodge itself in my stomach.

"He went home." I must have looked surprised or disappointed or something because Alec started on the defensive. "I told him to go home so I could talk to you before he came banging on the doors trying to get you to listen. I knew you wouldn't respond to that, so he's going to be here in the morning."

"I'm surfing with my mom in the morning, Alec. I can't talk to him tomorrow. I need to talk to him now."

I threw the ice cream down on the table and bolted for the door, grabbing my keys on the way out. I was still numb. I hadn't even cried and t didn't know how I felt about the whole situation or what to believe, but I couldn't be sure until I talked to Jace. I had a feeling Alec was right, but I needed to look Jace in the eyes when he told me what happened. Only then would I know what to believe.

Pulling up in front of Jace's house, I noticed that the shed door was open and the light was on. Jace had told me once that shaping boards helped relax him and make him forget about his troubles. Seeing the light on in the shed assured me that Jace was torn up about this. I got out of the car and wrapped my arms around my middle as I walked into the shed.

Jace was furiously sanding a board on the table and I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and yanked out the ear buds he had in. His face relaxed when he saw me and I knew he thought I had already forgiven him. When he lifted his arms to wrap them around me, I put my hand up to stop him.

"Alec said you had something to say," I said softly. "So, talk."

Jace took a deep breath before beginning. "I know what it looked like, Clary," he pleaded. "You have to believe me that I would never even look at another girl when I have you."

"I want to know what happened." Jace leaned back against the bench and I leaned against the wall keeping my arms crossed and defensive.

"Well, I went to sit at the bar while I waited for you to finish your paperwork and Aline came up to me introducing herself. She asked who I was because she had never seen me before, so I told her that I just moved here and I was Isabelle and Alec's cousin. She asked me why I was alone and I said I was waiting for my girlfriend. When I said your name, she just jumped me. I swear I tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge." He reached out for me and I let him touch me that time. "I swear I would have never talked to her if I had known she was going to do that."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before saying, "I believe you." He put his hands on my waist and pulled me onto his lap. "She's never liked me. She was trying to get sponsored when Roxy approached me in high school. She still hasn't gotten sponsored and she's jealous because I wasn't trying to get noticed and I did."

"I'm so sorry, Clary." He buried his face in the crook of my neck and held me tightly as if he were afraid I would try to escape. "I never want to hurt you. You mean so much to me and I would never risk that for anything."

"I know." I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. He put one arm under my legs while the other supported my back and picked me up carrying me to the house.

Jace sat down on the couch and I pulled my face from his chest. He cupped my cheek and ran his thumb along my cheekbone before pulling me to him to kiss me. I told him everything I couldn't say out loud with that kiss. He needed to know that I believed him and that we were okay. When I ended the kiss, he placed small kisses along my neck and shoulder before I snuggled into his chest.

I felt the exhaustion of the night wash over me and I let myself succumb to the darkness as Jace rocked me back and forth whispering in my hair.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Just a little drama for you today, but don't worry Clace will be just fine! _

_Some of you have asked if Simon will be appearing in this story and I'm not completely sure yet. I've always had a side Sizzy story so I'm just playing around with not having one. Maybe he will in a later chapter, but right now I'm just not sure. _

_Again, thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story because it is very special to me! Let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	10. Chapter 10

"Jace, where are we going," I asked as Jace pulled me, almost running down Front Street in Old Lahaina. He looked back giving me that evil little smirk he always gave me and stopped abruptly. I ran into his shoulder because I wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, sorry," Jace said trying not to laugh. He ran his hand over my face making sure I was okay. "We're here."

He raised his arm to point at the building in front of us. It looked just like all of the other stores on the street and looked like it hadn't been updated in about thirty years, but that was part of the charm of Front Street. On one side of the street, the stores and restaurants sat right on the water. About a half mile down the street, near the docks, was Break Wall.

I took a closer look at the sign above the door and noticed that it said, "One Love Boards." Jace's face revealed that he was nervous and gauging my reaction.

We had been official for about a month and working on the boards for the shop in that time. We were a couple of weeks away from the grand opening and I knew Jace was getting more and more excited. This shop was his baby and I knew how much it meant to him. He wanted to continue his parents' legacy that they had solidified in California.

"Oh my God!" I jumped up and wrapped my arms around Jace's neck. My feet were dangling off of the ground as I pulled back to look at him. "This is amazing! I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Well, believe it." He set me down and took my hand again. "Do you want to see the inside?"

"Uh, obviously. You didn't drag me down here to see the sign." He laughed and unlocked the door leading me inside the shop.

There were racks for the boards lined up against the walls and displays for the shirts and rash guards that I had designed for the shop. The front counter had a display case where we would display fins and leashes. There were boards that I had painted for decoration hanging from the ceiling. The walls were filled with surf photos of the great surfing legends like Kelly Slater, Laird Hamilton and Bethany Hamilton. Behind the front counter, there were a few pictures blown up that Jace and I had taken together for an ad we took out in the paper. The photo in the center, the largest one was a picture I had framed in my room. Jace was holding me bridal style and kissing me while I had one arm wrapped around his neck and the other was holding my board, the first one we made together, as it stood next to us.

I felt tears fill my eyes as I realized the way he wanted this business to be represented. We were partners in more ways than one and he wanted everyone to know it.

"So," Jace said as he came up behind me putting his arm around my waist and resting his hand on my hip. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect, Jace," I said turning to face him and rest my hands on his shoulders. "Do you realize what this shop is going to mean to people? You've created something so special and I'm so proud of you."

"Well, I can't take full credit. My parents did build the business together and inspired me to move it out here."

"Still, you are doing something so amazing. They would be so proud of you." I kissed him lightly and ran my hand through his hair. He smiled down at me and pulled my head to rest on his chest.

I had two months left in whale season and after that, I would just be working at the bar and making boards with Jace. He insisted that I shouldn't have to work at the bar, but I wasn't ready to give that up. I loved working there and maybe I would cut my hours back, but I wanted to wait until the shop got on its feet and to see how it would be received.

I knew walking into the shop that day that this wasn't going to be just another board shaper out of hundreds on the island. What Jace and I were doing was special and I couldn't wait for people to be a part of it.

I pushed back to look at Jace. His face revealed everything he was thinking in that moment. He was extremely confident in everything except this shop. He was completely sure that he was supposed to open this shop and continue his parents' legacy, but he wasn't sure how the locals would respond to a kid from California shaping boards on their turf. I tried to joke with him that that's why he had me, but he was still weary. I knew that once we opened and he saw people accepting him and his work, he would relax, but there were still two weeks that he could worry and freak himself out.

"Do you want to grab something to eat at the restaurant," I asked. Mom's restaurant was just down on the other side of the street. He nodded and I took his hand as we walked out of the shop and Jace locked the door behind us.

We walked hand in hand to the restaurant, which was a typical diner that served a variety of dishes with an island flair. Spam fried rice was on the menu for me, which Mom added after she discovered I loved it so much. A lot of the menu revolved around seafood and they served the best clam chowder I had ever had. The restaurant was a local hang out, but every once in a while, they would get a group of people visiting the island that heard of it through the grapevine.

As we walked in the restaurant, I led Jace to our usual table that Mom always left open for us. We sat down without menus because I had it memorized and Jace ordered the same thing every time we came here, so there was no need. Mom came barreling out of the kitchen and we stood to meet her. She and Jace hugged and laughed over some inside joke they had going. Mom sat down with us and yelled out our order. I got clam chowder and spam fried rice for the table while Jace ordered fish tacos and tater tots. Weird combinations, sure, but irresistible.

"So, what are you two up to today," Mom asked as we waited for our food.

"Jace just took me to see the shop," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

No one was more excited about One Love Boards than my mom. She couldn't stop telling people that her daughter and her boyfriend were opening a board shaping business. Jace and I had shown her the shed and where we made the boards one day and she just about had a heart attack at how excited she was. Jace made good on his promise to give her a board and I painted it according to her requests. It was now her favorite board to ride.

"Oh, I saw the sign this morning," she said clapping her hands. "It looks amazing. How does the inside look?"

"It's beautiful. Jace decorated and set everything up behind my back, but it's beautiful."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Jace defended himself. "Don't worry, you have final say on everything in the shop."

"Well, I can't wait to see it," Mom said excitedly. "Are we still having the party here after the opening?"

"If that's okay," Jace said. "We don't want you to lose out on any business because of it."

"Nonsense." She waved him off like he was being ridiculous. "We're having the party here and the opening is going to be amazing. Your boards are amazing and the world needs to see them. I'm so proud of you both."

"Thanks, Jocelyn." She smiled and put her hand over Jace's across the table and did the same with me.

Our food came and we started eating. Jace could eat a horse and still never be full. Cooking for him was like cooking for an entire football team. It was amazing and he attributed it to all the time he spent in the water. I couldn't argue with him there. I knew as well as anyone how hungry you could be after being in the water for a few hours.

Man, I loved the food here. I grew up with it and you would think I would have grown tired of it, but it was like coming home. You know when you move away from home and you can't wait to go back for your mom's home cooking? That was what it was like going to the restaurant. The food made me nostalgic and reminded me of a simpler time.

Jace and I finished our meals and made plans to go surfing with Mom and Luke later in the week. We needed to get back to Jace's house to finish a board and then Jace and I were going to spend my night off relaxing, something we rarely did anymore. I had a movie ready to be watched and a Chinese takeout menu on his counter ready to be ordered from.

Jace and I worked quickly and efficiently finishing the board he wanted to be on display next to mine for the opening. It was a really cool board and almost looked like it belonged with mine. It was a little longer than mine and I painted Front Street on the yellow background. It was going to be a representation of our appreciation for Old Lahaina. When I was done painting, Jace proceeded to gloss it and then we made our way inside.

I had paint all over me so I went to the kitchen sink to try and get at least some of it off. Jace came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I like working with you," he said as he kissed my shoulder.

"That's good because I kind of like working with you too," I said turning over my shoulder to press my lips to his. "We make a good team."

"The best." He squeezed me once before I turned and he lifted me onto the counter settling between my legs. Even sitting on the counter, I was still slightly shorter than Jace, but we were almost eye to eye. "So, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay." I had a confused look on my face. "So talk, Cali." I was trying to be playful and he knew it.

"My best friend from California wants to come out for the opening."

"Okay, that's awesome!" I rested my arms on his shoulders while he gripped my hips firmly. "When is he getting here?"

"He'll get here the day before the opening and then stay for two weeks. I told him he could have my couch so he wouldn't have to stay in a hotel."

"That sounds great. I can't wait to meet him. What's his name?"

"Jonathan. We've been best friends since middle school and we always surfed together."

"Cool, why haven't you mentioned him before?" He looked tense, like this was something he didn't like to talk about.

"Well, Jonathan and I had a bit of a falling out before I moved out here." He took a deep breath and I played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "We got in a car accident. He was driving and we had both been drinking. No one was hurt, but he got arrested and resented me for not bailing him out. He called a few days ago and we talked everything out, so I'm hoping we can get things back to where they were. I explained that I needed a fresh start and that he could have one too. He's thinking of moving out here."

"Wow." I let the breath out that I was holding. "Is that why you don't drink?" He nodded. "Well, I'm glad that you guys worked it out and I'm glad that you told me. I understand you a lot more now."

"I want you to understand me." He kissed the tip of my nose and looked in my eyes. His golden eyes bore into me and I felt like he was looking through me. "Let's watch this movie of yours."

Instead of letting me stand, Jace dragged me from the counter and I wrapped my legs around his waist with a shriek. He walked us to the couch where I curled up in his lap and watched the meaningless movie I had picked out. I paid more attention to Jace who never failed to surprise me.

That was the day I realized that I loved him, but I didn't dare tell him and scare him away. After seeing the shop and what he did for me, then after he told me about his past and opened up to me, I could decipher the different layers that were Jace. There was the playful and confident side that I saw on the waves, the sensitive and caring side he only showed me, and the vulnerable and bruised side and I loved them all.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I'm just loving writing this story for you all so much and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. _

_Please let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

To say that I was nervous would have been an understatement. It was the day before the grand opening of One Love Boards and I sat in my Jeep at the airport waiting for Jonathan to come out. Jace was in the passenger seat and I had actually put a backseat in just this once since the drive from the airport would be longer than ten minutes. As soon as we got to Jace's I was taking that thing out again. I didn't like having the backseats in at all.

My mind was racing and I kept remembering one thing after another that had to get done every three seconds. My knee was bouncing up and down so fast I thought my leg might actually fall off. We still had plenty of time to get everything done since we would be back around noon, but I just wanted everything to be perfect. Jace had worked for so long to make this dream a reality and he deserved for his big day to be perfect.

"Hey," Jace said placing his hand on my knee to stop it from bouncing. "Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine. We'll go home and finish everything up in time to hit the waves for a nice sunset surf session."

"I just can't believe it's finally here," I admitted and gave him a small smile.

"It's going to be great." He squeezed my knee and leaned across the center console to kiss me. He grabbed the back of my neck and deepened the kiss. I jumped when I heard something hit the side of the Jeep.

"Hey, loser," Jonathan said through the open passenger window.

Jace dropped his head and sighed shaking his head before turning to see his best friend. He hopped out of the car to hug Jonathan who was laughing and saying something to Jace that I couldn't hear. Jace pushed him away shaking his head. Finally, Jonathan noticed I was standing outside the Jeep behind Jace.

"So, you must be the girl," he said pointing to me.

"Uh, the girl has a name, assface," Jace smacked Jonathan on the back of the head.

I took him in. Jonathan and Jace stood at roughly the same height, but Jonathan's features were harsher. His eyes were so dark they were almost black and his hair was almost white. He looked like he belonged in Scandinavia rather than on a surfboard in Santa Cruz.

"I'm Clary," I said stepping forward with my hand outstretched toward him. Instead of taking my hand, he pulled me in for a hug. I could see that he was just trying to mess with Jace because Jace was glaring at him. I giggled nervously before he released me.

"She's hotter than you described, man," Jonathan said as he threw his bag over his shoulder. Jace paled and threw his hands up in surrender at me.

"Oh, really, Cali," I crossed my arms and stood right in front of Jace with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. He saw straight through it and laughed kissing my lips lightly.

"Cali?" Jonathan asked as Jace tossed his board bag in the bag and we got in the Jeep.

"Don't ask," Jace said narrowing his eyes at me.

"Yeah, and you're Cali Two," I said with a laugh at Jonathan. Jace shook his head at me and put his hand on my knee.

I made my way out of the airport parking lot and started the drive to Jace's house. I plugged my phone in and played my usual Sublime playlist. Jace and Jonathan were busy admiring the scenery and when we saw a whale breech in the distance, I thought Jonathan was going to jump out of the car to go and find the whale and make friends with it. They discussed what they were going to do while Jonathan was there and he announced that he had decided to move out to the island and he would spend this time trying to find a job.

We finally pulled up to Jace's house after the thirty-minute drive and I hopped out to help take Jonathan's bags inside. Jonathan took his board out of the back and pulled the board out of the bag. It was a fun board and it was awesome. It looked like a board that Jace had shaped, but the design was totally different than anything I had seen before. I gawked at the board tracing the design with my fingers. It wasn't so much a picture as it was just an intricate design with no direction, but it was beautiful.

"It's amazing, isn't it," Jonathan asked as he came up behind me. Jace was putting the bags in the house. "Jace did it when we were in high school. It's my favorite board."

"Wow," I whispered. I didn't know Jace was this talented. I mean, I knew he could shape boards and he was planning on designing them before I came along, but this was something else. "Why would he want me to design the boards when he can do things like this?"

"Jace has always been more into the artistry of shaping the board than beautifying the board." He glanced back to the house to make sure Jace wasn't coming up behind us. "Sure, he can do this, but it's not what he's passionate about. Plus, I think he likes the idea of a partnership. His dad always shaped the boards and his mom designed them. He thinks it's utterly romantic."

Jace came walking up then and I couldn't help myself when I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. I could hear Jonathan laughing behind me, but I was too distracted to notice. I had no idea that Jace was trying to recreate the passion that his parents had shared with me and it made me so incredibly happy that he chose me to do it with.

"Whoa," Jace said when we pulled apart. "What was that for?"

"Do I need to have a reason to kiss my boyfriend," I asked with a coy smile.

"No, but I would like to know what I did to deserve it so I can be sure to do it again."

"You're just you." I smiled and kissed him lightly pulling away quickly before he could deepen it and placed my hand on his chest. "Okay, we have things to do. I want to run by the shop and make sure all of the displays are perfect and I need to make sure Mom has everything she needs for the party. We need to take the last few boards to the shop and I got that shipment of wax in yesterday so we need to drop that off. Oh, and those stickers we ordered came in too so we need to put them in the display case and put one on the back of my Jeep. I figured we could give everyone a few and they can stick them all over the place."

"Wow, okay, we better get going if we want to get in a surf session before the sun goes down."

"Oh, I am so ready to hit these waves and finally be able to surf without a wetsuit," Jonathan piped up from the shed where he was checking out the quiver Jace had set up.

Jace and Jonathan tossed their boards in the back of the Jeep. I guessed I would have to leave the backseat in for at least a little while, but that was it. I still needed room for the boards. We all hopped in the Jeep and Jace took the keys from me so he could drive. I couldn't argue; it was his turn to drive. When the Jeep was loaded with Jace and Jonathan's boards along with the few boards we had finished the night before that needed to be displayed, we headed to the shop.

Cali's one and two unloaded the boards and displayed them as I checked the displays and made sure everything was clean and perfect. I set up the wax display on the front counter and made sure the stereo was set up and ready to go. We would just plug our phones in and play the approved Pandora stations that we had agreed on.

Once I had gone through the entire shop and approved of everything, we walked down the street to the restaurant. We weren't planning on staying to eat, but try telling that to my mom. When she saw Jonathan walk in with us, she had a million questions to ask him. We ate a late lunch and finally made it out of the restaurant with full stomachs.

I needed to run by my house to change and grab my board so that's where we headed next. Jonathan caught up with Alec and Isabelle, whom he had met a few times before when they had visited Jace in Santa Cruz, while I changed. I ran out of my room in just my bathing suit and Jace and Jonathan followed me out of the house. Jace had already loaded my short board because the purple board was on display at the shop for the opening, and of course we needed the long board.

The sun hung low in the sky as I drove to Break Wall. We would get at least an hour in the water before it got dark. When I pulled into the parking lot, we hopped out of the Jeep and Jace grabbed his board and my long board. We made our way down to the beach where we waxed our boards and headed into the water. I looked over to Jonathan, who had the biggest smile on his face, excited to surf Hawaiian waves for the first time.

Jace paddled out with the long board deciding that he didn't want to have to go in and get it when we wanted to ride tandum. We sat on our boards in the lineup and Jace grabbed my ankle pulling me closer and putting my foot on the long board. Ever since he had done it the first time, Jace did this almost every time we went out on the waves. I found it endearing.

"So, how does this work," Jonathan asked. "How do we decide who takes what wave."

"Take whatever wave you want," Jace told him with a smirk thrown in my direction. "Just don't drop in on Clary."

"Hey, that's not a joke," I said completely serious. "Don't drop in on my wave." I looked out on the outside to see a nice wave forming and figured Jonathan's first wave in Hawaii should be a fun one. I looked at him and asked, "Party wave?"

"You read my mind surfer girl," Jonathan said as he turned his board to start paddling.

I took my foot off of Jace's board and we started paddling as well. We all rode the wave in about a hundred yards before bailing out. Jace told me to get rid of my board and to hop on the long board, so I did. We paddled back out to the lineup on our knees and sat down on the board.

"What the hell is this," Jonathan asked waving his hand toward the board we were sitting on.

"What the hell does it look like," Jace replied sarcastically. A wave was forming and Jace poked me in the side so I lay down on the board as he turned and did the same. We paddled for the wave and Jace popped up leaning back so I could do the same. When we were both standing and facing each other, Jace grabbed my hand as I cross stepped back to him. I turned quickly before he dipped and lifted me to sit on his shoulders. We stayed that way for about five seconds before we wiped out, as usual. We hadn't completely gotten the tricks down yet.

I resurfaced and climbed back on the board while Jace held it steady before he slid on behind me and we paddled back out to the lineup. Jonathan was sitting on his board with his mouth hanging open.

"That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen," Jonathan splashed the water exaggeratedly. "I want to do that. Clary, hop on my board."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Jace said pulling me back possessively so my back was against his chest. "Find your own surfing girlfriend."

He kissed my shoulder and I leaned back into him resting my hand on his knee. Man, I loved him and I really needed to tell him. I had planned on doing it after the opening. I had a whole speech planned and I didn't even care if he didn't say it back, I just needed him to know.

"I think she's one of a kind, bro," Jonathan said with a smile.

"And she's all mine."

He had no idea.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! This is the first time I'm writing Jonathan as a good guy and Jace's best friend, but I think it will be a nice change, so he'll be sticking around for a while. The next chapter will be the opening and I have something special planned that was hinted at in this chapter, so I hope you're looking forward to it! _

_Let me know what you think and leave a review! Stay amazing! :)_


	12. Chapter 12

I stood at the front door of the shop waiting for Jace to unlock the door. Mom and Luke were standing behind me with Alec, Isabelle and Jonathan not far behind. We were all wearing one of the t-shirts or tank tops that I had designed with the shop's logo and I was ready for the world to see what Jace and I had been working so hard for.

Jace unlocked the door and came to my side placing his arm around my waist and kissing the top of my head. I took a deep breath as people started to trickle through the front door. Some I recognized from the lineup and some I recognized as board shapers.

Jace and I started fielding questions from prospective customers and showing people around the shop. I answered questions about the designs and Jace answered questions about the shapes. There were two ways you could buy a board from One Love Boards. If you saw a board that spoke to you and was absolutely perfect on the racks, you could buy it, carry it out of the store and be surfing with it that day or you could order a custom board. That was what I was looking forward to most. The customer would sit down with Jace and I and discuss the length and the shape of the board. Then, I would ask what the customer wanted in the design. I would sketch something up quickly and go from there.

I was standing at the counter when Jonathan walked up holding a board under his arm. Jace came to my side and I looked up at him with a questioning glance.

"Looks like you just sold your first board," he said with a proud smile.

"If you wanted a board, you just had to ask," Jace told him. "I'm not going to accept your money."

"It's not for me." He pointed toward the racks at a girl with long brown hair. "She wants to buy this board and I told her I would ring her up and get her set with some fins and a leash."

I smacked Jace on the arm. "We just sold our first board," I said in shock. "We just sold a board!" I jumped into his arms as we laughed and I kissed him.

"Congratulations, guys." I got to work writing down the details of the board she was buying, including the price, and pulled some fins and a leash out of the display case. I calculated the total and gave it to Jonathan to finish the sale.

When he walked away, Jace turned to me, taking me in his arms and spinning me around. He held me with my feet dangling off the ground and kissed me deeply. Normally, I would scold him for such a public display of affection in our place of business, but I was just too damn happy to end the moment.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips, the speech I had planned be damned. His eyes widened and I tensed afraid that he was going to pull away and say he didn't feel the same way. I scrambled to release myself from his hold and place my feet on the ground, but his hold on me tightened forcing me to look in his eyes.

"You love me," he asked staring into my green eyes with his golden ones.

"Yeah. Is that a bad thing? Should I not have said it? Don't think you have to—" His lips cut me off. He kissed me deeply and cradled the back of my head holding me to him.

"Stop talking. I wanted to be the one who said it first." He smiled and took a deep breath. "Because I love you so much it scares me. I'm pretty sure I could never love someone as much as I love you right now."

My heart melted and I forgot everything that was happening around me. I forgot about the shop and the people surrounding us. There was only Jace and I in that moment when I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life surfing, designing boards and loving this man.

Mom broke the spell that hovered over Jace and me when she knocked on the glass of the display case trying to get our attention. Jace dropped me to the ground and we turned to face her.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said trying to stifle her grin. "This man would like to set up a custom board consultation." She directed our gaze to the man standing next to her.

"Of course," Jace said to the man. "How can we help you?"

We helped the man make an appointment to design his board and then proceeded to make three more appointments for custom boards.

After four hours of the shop being open, when we were ready to close down and head to the restaurant for the party, we had sold a short board, two fun boards, a long board, and set up five appointments for custom boards. I would say it was a pretty successful opening.

Jace locked the door behind our friends, who were on their way to the restaurant. I was standing behind him when he turned and wrapped his arms around me kissing my temple. We started swaying to the music that was still playing. I melted into Jace and held him close resting my cheek on his chest and closing my eyes.

"You were great today," he mumbled into my hair.

"They like our boards," I said as I tilted my head back to look at him. "Is this really happening? I don't think I could handle it if the last two months had only been a dream."

"It's happening, pretty girl and it's going to keep happening for as long as you'll let me keep you."

"Eh, we'll see." I shrugged my shoulders trying to look indifferent when my heart was actually soaring at the thought of spending my life with Jace. "I sort of like you."

"Well, I sort of like you, too." He nibbled below my ear and squeezed my side making me shriek. The song on the radio switched to "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, one of my favorite songs. Jace smiled down at me and took my right hand in his resting his other on the small of my back. "Dance with me."

"We're going to be late." I had no doubt Mom had already started the party. "Everyone is waiting for us."

"They can wait a few minutes, just dance with me." I rested my cheek against his chest as he danced me around the shop.

I laughed as Jace twirled me around and dipped me back to kiss me. He bent down and picked me up carrying me to the front counter and setting me on top of it. He placed his hands on my hips and stood between my legs. My fingers found his hair as we spent a minute just looking at each other. I pulled him to me and kissed him deeply not wanting to lose the moment.

"I love you," Jace whispered against my lips. "God, I love saying that."

"I love hearing it," I said clutching the back of his neck and holding him to me. "I love you, too, I guess." I smiled and he squeezed my side, which turned into full on tickling. I squirmed and shrieked trying to get him to stop. "Jace! Stop!"

He captured my laughs with his mouth and wrapped his arms around my waist finally ending the torture. My arms wrapped around his shoulders as he pulled me flush against him. His hands went to the hem of my tank top and I pushed him lightly in the chest gasping for air.

"No," I said trying to catch my breath. "Jace, not now."

"You're right," he said resting his forehead on mine and taking a deep breath. "Our first time shouldn't be on the counter in our surf shop." He chuckled at the notion. "Plus, we really do need to get to that party."

"It's not that I don't want to, I just think we should wait a little while longer and make it special because I love you and I want everything to be perfect. Please don't be mad."

"Hey." Jace took my face in his hands forcing me to look him in the eyes. "I could never be mad at you for something like this. I love you and I want you to be comfortable, so no, I'm not mad."

"Why are you so perfect?" Jace smirked and kissed my forehead as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Honey, I was born this way." I could feel him laughing rather than hear him. My eyes were closed and my head was resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, there's that attitude I know and love." Jace pulled me off of the counter and placed me on my feet kissing me lightly.

"Let's go, shorty." He took my hand and led me out of the shop locking the door behind him.

We walked down the street to the restaurant where everyone was waiting for us. When we walked in the restaurant, I saw how much Mom had actually put into the party. There was a banner hanging above the kitchen door that said, "Congratulations One Love Boards." Next to the hostess stand, there was a large poster board that had a collage with pictures of Jace and me throughout our lives. I spotted a picture of me sitting on the front of my mom's board when I was about three years old. There were pictures of me surfing in my first amateur competitions, along with my Roxy team photos and pictures of Mom and me riding tandum. Jace pointed to pictures of him and explained what was going on. He pointed to a picture of him in his dad's shed when he was first learning how to shape boards. There were multiple pictures of Jace and Jonathan surfing and being normal teenagers. The picture that stood out the most, however, was a picture of Jace and his parents all on their boards in the lineup. They looked so happy and his parents looked at him with such pride in their eyes. In the center, the photo that hung behind the front counter at the shop of Jace and me tied the two lives in the collage together. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.

"Hey, you two," Mom said coming up behind us and putting her arms around our shoulders. "I hope you know how proud I am of both of you."

"Thank you, Jocelyn," Jace said as he turned to envelope her in his arms. Since Jace's parents weren't there to tell him they were proud of him, I knew he looked to Mom for approval, which he didn't have to look far for.

"No problem, I mean it. Now, you better take care of her." She pointed at me and I was taken aback. She was acting like we were getting married or something.

"Don't worry, I will." Jace pulled me into his side with that stupid smirk of his and kissed the top of my head. "Thank you for doing this, Jocelyn. It means a lot to both of us that you would throw us this party."

She waved him off and I took that as my queue to hug her myself. "This really is amazing, Mom," I said into her ear. She pulled away wiping a tear away and I smiled at her wiping my own tear away. We could be such babies sometimes. I think she was thinking this was the first step to me really growing up. Sure, I moved out of her house when I was eighteen, but it was still just us against the world. Now, Mom had a boyfriend who I had no doubt she would marry and I was with Jace, who I was starting this new chapter with and we were living our own lives instead of one life between the two of us. "Who made the collage? I love it, so much. Do I get to keep it?"

"That would be the work of the lovely Isabelle," Mom said and I nodded before excusing myself to find my best friend.

Isabelle was sitting at a table with Alec and Jonathan throwing her head back and laughing at something Jonathan had said. The look in her eye screamed that something was going on there and I made a mental note to ask her about that later. I thought about the preceding month and a half and I realized that I hadn't sat down in our living room and talked to Isabelle in a while. We lived together, but I had been so busy getting ready for the opening and being with Jace that I really had no idea what was going on in her life. That was going to change as soon as possible. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her neck, hugging her from behind. I wanted to talk to her alone, so I pulled her toward an empty table.

"There she is," Isabelle said as we sat down at the table. "Miss Successful Board Designer in the flesh."

"Oh, stop it," I said waving her off. "Mom told me that you made that collage. It's awesome, Iz."

"Yeah, I just wanted to do something for you guys and it seemed like a cool thing to show where you guys came from and where you are now."

"I miss you." She gave me a confused look before I could explain. "We've barely hung out just the two of us in the past month. I need my girl time."

"I know what you mean, but we've both been busy. You're right, though. Why don't we do something this weekend. We can go to Old Lahaina and hit the shops, maybe get a shave ice. I know how much you love shave ice."

"Sounds good." I glanced over to Jace who was talking to Mom and Luke and our eyes met. That smirk appeared again and I could feel my face turn red.

"You really like him, don't you." I shook my head, lowering my gaze avoiding eye contact.

"I love him." She smacked my leg and I laughed. "I do, and he loves me. It's the most amazing feeling."

"I knew it! Who was the one who told you to stop being stupid and let someone in?"

"You were." I chuckled as she hugged me and rocked me back and forth proclaiming victory and saying how perfect Jace and I were for each other. "I love you like a sister, you know that right?"

"Of course, and I love you too." I nodded before she got up to join in on Alec and Jonathan's conversation.

I made my way back to Jace's side and joined his conversation with Mom and Luke accepting congratulations from the people around us. Jace looked at me with such love and pride in his eyes and I knew that I wanted to make him look at me that way every day for the rest of my life.

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_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying the story._

_Let me know what you think, as usual, because I love hearing from all of you! :)_


	13. Chapter 13

In the first two weeks the shop was open, Jace and I made six custom board consultations and sold ten boards off the racks. I would spend the first part of the day in the shop while Jace stayed home and shaped the boards then I would go to his house and start painting them. We had a good system worked out and I had cut back my hours at the bar so I only worked three nights a week. Jace hired Jonathan to work at the shop the day after the opening because he had personally sold three boards that day.

Jonathan was still staying on Jace's couch, which meant we saw a lot of each other, especially since I had been spending most nights there. I knew Jace loved having his best friend around, but three people in that tiny house was beginning to be too much. No, I didn't live there, but I might as well have with the amount of time I spent there. Jace had even cleared out a drawer for me and I knew it was really only a matter of time before I actually moved into the house. It just made sense. We worked there and I spent almost every night there, so we just needed to get rid of the houseguest and every thing would fall into place.

I was working at the shop with Jonathan and working on some designs for the boards Jace was shaping. Jonathan was organizing the racks and wiping down the boards.

"So, how's the house hunt going," I asked trying to be subtle.

"Eh, I haven't really found anything yet," Jonathan shrugged his shoulders as he made his way to the front counter standing on the opposite side of me. "Why? Do you want Jace all to yourself?"

"No, that's not it." I said defensively. "I mean, I can't say anything because it's not technically my house."

"I get it. Three people basically living there and one bathroom is hard." He came around the counter to stand next to me, a little too close. "Or maybe you don't want me to move out because you like me being there."

"What?" I shook my head trying to understand what was happening. Was Jonathan really trying to flirt with me or accuse me of liking him? "What are you talking about Jon?"

"Oh, come on, Clary." He placed his hand on my arm and I flinched, stepping back away from him, but he closed the distance, backing me into the wall. "I see the way you look at me. I know you want me. I can be better than Jace and you know it."

"Jon, we're friends, that's it. I don't know what you're talking about because I love Jace and you're his best friend, which means that I have to deal with you, nothing more." I scrambled to try and free myself from his trap, but he wouldn't budge.

"Don't lie to me." He took my face in his hand forcing me to look at him. "I could be so much better for you than Jace. Why would you want to be with him when you could be with me?"

"Because I love Jace." I pushed him back and he staggered enough for me to get away and walk to the counter. "You and I could never be what Jace and I are because I love him and he loves me. Don't you get that? What we have is forever and you don't love me, you love the idea of me."

"No, you're wrong." He stepped in front of me, pinning me to the counter. "And I'll prove it."

His mouth came crashing down on me. I struggled to push him away and fought him, but then I heard the bell above the door ring signaling someone had walked in the shop. Jonathan released his lips from mine to see who had interrupted him. His arm slithered around my waist and a sinister smile crept onto his face. I turned to see who it was and standing in the doorway was Jace with his mouth hanging open.

"Jace," I whispered in relief knowing he could put a stop to this. Surely he had seen me struggling, but after a moment of silence, Jace's face turned to anger and it wasn't directed at Jonathan, but at me. He turned and walked out the door.

I pushed Jonathan away and ran after Jace yelling his name and trying to get his attention, but when I went outside, he was already out of sight. I huffed in defeat and ran back into the shop to grab my wallet and keys. Jonathan stood at the counter with a smug grin plastered on his face. I walked past him toward the door.

"Get out," I yelled pointing at the door. "Get the hell out of my shop and don't even think of ever coming here again. Jace took you into his home and gave you a job, not to mention a second chance, but you have royally screwed us over and I will not let him be effected by your malicious games. I suggest you book the next flight to the mainland and never show your face around here again."

He stood there shocked and confused as I held the door open waiting for him to follow my directions. He finally walked out the door and started walking down the street. Good. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say. I just knew that I had to get to Jace before Jonathan was able to plant lies in Jace's head. I hoped he would hear me out and listen to my story instead of blindly trusting his supposed best friend. I was the one he loved and trusted and planned on spending the rest of his life with, right? Well, I was about to find out.

I jumped in my Jeep and sped to Jace's house as fast as I could. When I pulled in the driveway, I glanced toward the shed to see if there was any sign of Jace being in there, trying to blow off steam. The shed door was closed and locked and the lights were off. I hopped out of the car and walked up to the front door knocking and waiting to see if he answered the door. After I knocked and waited five times, I used the key he had given me after the opening of the shop. I rushed through the house trying to find him, but he wasn't there.

After locking up the house, I sat in my car trying to think of where he could possibly be. My house seemed like the stupidest place to find himself and the bar was up there too because I had a shift that night. When I looked at the shed again, I noticed that his board was gone and I knew exactly where he would be. My board was already in the back of the Jeep so I drove to Break Wall.

Pulling into the parking lot, I jumped out of the car thankful that I was wearing a bathing suit under my clothes because Jace and I were planning on surfing as soon as he was done with the boards he was working on. That's why he showed up at the shop, he was coming to get me. I hurried down to the beach and searched the lineup for my golden California boy, but came up short again. Sitting down in the sand, I decided that I needed to clear my head and he would hopefully show up at some point. I had the advantage of having a car and he had to walk so he could have been right behind me.

I paddled out to the lineup and sat up on my board, feeling like I was missing something. I was missing Jace. I searched the lineup again to make sure I hadn't missed him and searched the beach to see if he was there and would follow me out. He was nowhere to be found.

I lie back on my board and let the sun warm my body. How the hell did any of this happen? How had I not seen what Jonathan was up to? I had only known him for two weeks and there was absolutely no way I had ever looked at him the way I looked at Jace. He was completely misinterpreting everything. After I thought about the situation a little longer, I came to the conclusion that Jonathan never wanted to repair his relationship with Jace. He was still mad about the whole drunk driving incident and hated the fact that he had been driving and Jace hadn't. He saw Jace as this perfect person with a perfect life who could do no wrong. He thought that if he could take me away from Jace he would be able to live the perfect life that Jace had.

Huffing out the deep breath I had taken in, I sat back up on my board and saw a beautiful wave forming on the outside. It was going to be bigger than a normal wave and I wanted it, bad. If there was anything that could help me clear my mind and figure out what I was going to say to Jace to clear his mind of the lies Jonathan had, no doubt, told him, it was shredding on this wave.

As I turned to paddle for the wave, I thought of when I saw Aline all over Jace and how I felt that night. I had been so hurt at the thought that Jace had played me and I never wanted to feel that way again. I wanted him to know that I loved him and for him to love me back. Walking into the business that we owned together to see his best friend kissing his girlfriend must have felt like a knife to the back over and over again. He trusted Jonathan and he trusted me, and he thought I had betrayed that trust, but he was wrong. Man, he was so wrong. I needed to tell him how wrong he was.

I glanced back over my shoulder to gauge how hard I needed to paddle to catch the wave. Turning back, I knew I had about five good strokes to catch this wave before I missed it. Paddling as hard as I could, I felt the wave form underneath me and knew I had to pop up before I lost my chance. Grabbing the rails of the board, I pushed to my feet and dropped in on the wave before turning down the line. When I noticed a barrel forming, I dropped down in a crouch to get inside of it. The barrel formed over my head giving me a solid ride.

The wave was getting faster, but I wasn't. Images of my wipeout and injury six years before flashed in my mind and I tried to get myself out of the barrel, but it was too late. The wave closed out on me, forcing me under the water with great force as my board slid out from underneath me.

I felt my back hit the reef before my leash tugged on my foot. I felt relief in the fact that I was still connected to my board because I could use my leash to pull myself back to the surface. When I felt that another wave wasn't going to push me under, I did just that, pulled myself to the surface, but when I surfaced, a bigger wave pushed me under. My leash held tight to my foot as the wave held me down. I felt like my lungs were going to explode from holding my breath, but I couldn't fight the water holding me down. The leash slipped and that's when I started to panic.

I had trained my whole life not to panic in these situations, but as I was being held underwater, visions of my accident made it difficult not to panic. My time in the hospital and the months afterward all flashed through my mind as I looked up toward the surface seeing the sky just above the water. My leash finally gave up and slipped from my ankle allowing the water to push me farther down.

My head hit a rock and I remember thinking I was having déjà vu. The last thing I remember was seeing Jace's smiling face and golden eyes before everything went black.

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	14. Chapter 14

_Jace_

She thought I was mad at her. She thought that I ran away because I thought she had betrayed me, but I saw the situation for what it was. Jonathan didn't come to Hawaii for a fresh start; he came here to ruin my life. God only knows what else he's tried to do since he had been there. I thought he was my best friend. I thought that we could get back to where we were before the drunk-driving incident, but apparently, I was wrong.

When I got to my house, I knew there was only one thing that would clear my mind and I needed to do it. I needed to go out on the water because, much like Clary, it's where I belonged. I had no doubt that if Clary came by the house, she would know where to find me so I grabbed my board and started walking.

I should have stayed and confronted Jonathan when I walked in the shop, but I just couldn't. I couldn't push past the fact that I had trusted him and blindly let him back into my life only to find him trying to take the most important thing in my life. If he had tried to mess with the shop, it would have been bad, but I would have been able to deal with it. I couldn't deal with losing Clary and she needed to know that.

I was almost to Break Wall when Jonathan came running up behind me, yelling at me to wait. I knew what he was going to do. He was going to try and blame everything on Clary, but I saw her try to push him away and he had her pinned against the counter. She wasn't exactly attacking him. My nostrils flared and my fists clenched in anger when he ran to stand in front of me forcing me to stop walking.

"Don't," I said holding up a hand when he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't even try to explain yourself or give me some bullshit excuse. I saw her push you away. I know she didn't kiss you so don't try to blame this on her."

"Oh, because it could never be perfect little Clary's fault," he asked incredulously. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe she was only using you to get to me? She was only staying with you so she could spend more time with me."

"You are seriously insane if you think any of that is true. I know the truth and I know that Clary loves me. Don't try and say any different because we all know that it's true, but you had to go and mess it up just like you mess everything up. I thought we were friends, Jon."

"We haven't been friends for a long time, Jace. I'm tired of you always getting what you want and living a perfect life while I get dealt the shit card. What if I wanted to open my own business or get the girl? I can't because you've already beat me to it. At least, with Clary I can get something out of the deal and take your perfect life away in the process."

I couldn't hold back anymore. I threw my arm back and threw my fist into his face. I felt his nose crunch under my fist and blood started pouring from his nose. He fell to the ground holding his nose, looking up at me.

"Get your shit out of my house and don't even think about showing yourself around me ever again or a broken nose will be the least of your worries."

I stepped over him and continued my walk to Break Wall knowing that Jonathan would be smart enough to go home. He didn't have anything to call his own here, especially not me, and could pick up and leave at a moment's notice. Hell, I would even pay for him to back. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't so sure Jonathan was supposed to leave California in the first place with his arrest and probation. I would have to make a few calls after I found Clary to make sure Jonathan didn't try to mess with our lives anymore. This was my life and he couldn't take it away from me. I was going to spend the rest of my life surfing, shaping boards and loving that fiery redhead who yelled at me for dropping in on her.

Man, I loved her so much it felt hard to breath sometimes. I didn't know I was capable of this kind of love, but Clary brought out the best in me and gave me a reason to get up in the morning. I loved spending every moment of my day with her. I loved our business that we owned together. I loved that she would always try to stay awake on the couch after a long day, but fall asleep on my lap and I would have to carry her to bed. I loved surfing with her because we both belong in the water and it's where we can truly be ourselves. I just loved her.

When I came to the parking lot, I saw Clary's Jeep and knew she was looking for me. She knew I would be here, but even if I didn't show up, I knew she was going to go out in the water. She needed it just as much as I did. I plopped down in the sand with my board resting against my thighs so I could wax it. As I ran the cube of wax along the board, I searched the lineup for that red hair that I loved so much. I saw a wave forming on the outside and knew that Clary wasn't going to let it pass. Sure enough, I saw her turn and paddle for the wave. She popped up and turned down the line.

I watched the barrel form and she crouched down to get inside of it. I smiled and thought of how good she really was, probably better than me. When I realized that she should have made it out of the barrel, I saw the wave close out and her board go flying. I didn't panic yet. I knew she could handle it because she had before. I saw her purple board tombstoning in the water so it was standing straight up in the water while the wave was pushing Clary down. I knew she would be okay as long as she was tombstoning because she could use the leash to pull herself back up. I saw her head pop out of the water and breathed a sigh of relief if only for a moment because another wave pushed her back down. I saw her board and held on to hope that she could get through this.

The leash must have slipped off or snapped or something because I saw the board fly through the air. That was when I panicked. I scrambled to my feet and headed straight for where I saw her board knowing she couldn't have gotten to far because the wave was pushing her down instead of sideways. Diving into the surf, I opened my eyes and got accustomed to the sting. I got to the point where her board had been and searched frantically. Then, I saw her and dove down to get her. She was limp in my arms as I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to the surface. I swam as fast as I could, carrying another body to shore. When I was able to stand, I placed one arm under her back and the other under her knees, carrying her to my board and laying her down.

My hands moved frantically over her body looking for any injuries. The backs of her arms and back were covered in little cuts from the reef, but what really caught my attention was the large bump on the back of her head. A crowd had started to form as I checked for a pulse. She had a light one, but wasn't breathing. I yelled, "Someone call 911," as I began performing CPR on the beautiful girl that I loved so much.

My adrenaline was pumping and I couldn't even think of the possibility of losing her at the moment. I just pumped on her chest and breathed into her mouth, praying that she would start breathing. I finally was able to get the water out of her lungs and get her to breath, but she still hadn't woken up. Someone told me that the ambulance would be there in ten minutes, but I couldn't wait that long, Clary couldn't wait that long. I needed to get her to the hospital, now.

A man helped me use my board as a stretcher and we carried Clary to her Jeep. I took the keys from the back tire and took her off of the board laying her down in the back seat of the Jeep. I thanked the man before jumping in the car, forgetting all about our boards. All that mattered was getting Clary to the hospital and getting her safe. I called the hospital from the car to let them know we were coming.

When I pulled up in front of the hospital, they were waiting with a gurney to take her in for observation. I knew she wasn't in critical condition, but I had no idea what that bump on her head would mean. I just needed her to be okay.

I sat in the waiting room knowing she was in good hands and started making the calls I had hoped I would never have to make. I called Jocelyn first, who said she would be there in five minutes; it took ten minutes to get there. Next, I called Isabelle, who said she would also be there as soon as possible. There was nothing left to do, but wait.

Sitting in that waiting room, I began to think about our sport. Sure, it was dangerous. I got banged up, cut and bruised all the time, but a cut every once in a while did nothing to deter us from the thrill of riding that perfect wave or getting inside the barrel. It was times like this, though, that I started to think about how truly dangerous it was, and that I would never stop doing it.

Jocelyn burst through the emergency room door and frantically searched the waiting room for me. When our eyes met, I could see the pain in hers and knew she was reliving Clary's accident six years before. She ran into my open arms and sobbed. I held her close because that was the only thing I could do. I didn't know how she had felt six years before when Clary was in a coma and fighting for her life, but I did know how I felt twenty minutes before when I saw her lying lifelessly on my board and not breathing.

"I can't lose her, Jace," she sobbed into my chest as I rubbed soothing circles on her back. "She's all I have."

"I know," I said because I did know. Clary was the one thing I had that I knew I couldn't live without. The board shaping business meant nothing to me in comparison to what Clary meant to me.

I led her to a chair and wrapped my arm around her shoulder trying to get her to stop crying. We knew Clary wasn't going to die, but it didn't make the situation any less terrifying because we didn't know how this was going to affect her. Isabelle came in and quietly sat in the chair on the other side of Jocelyn holding her hand in her lap. Luke showed up not too long after and I left Jocelyn's side to pace the floor of the waiting room.

After what felt like hours, a doctor finally came in and called Clary's name. Jocelyn and I both rushed to stand in front of him waiting to hear what happened to the girl we loved.

"Are you her family," the doctor asked glancing at us both.

"I'm her mother," Jocelyn said quickly, not giving him time to question me. "Can you tell me what's wrong with my daughter please?"

"Right, well, Clary is going to be just fine. We have her under sedation and we did a brain scan to assess the bump on her head. Nothing of concern popped up, but she does have a concussion. A chest X-ray revealed that there wasn't any water in her lungs, which is a good thing. We can avoid infection now. We've cleaned up the lacerations on her back and arms and none of them needed stitches. Once she wakes up, we will do some more observations to make sure the concussion isn't anything more. We would like to keep her overnight, but you can go back and see her now, if you'd like."

I shook the doctor's hand and thanked him before Isabelle came up behind me and hugged me. I hadn't realized that I needed it and I supposed she did too because that was her best friend back there. We were informed that only two people could be in the room at a time, so I let Jocelyn and Isabelle go in first knowing that I wouldn't be leaving once I was in there.

I stood outside Clary's door and thanked God that she was going to be okay. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to find her and tell her that I knew the truth and that I loved her with all of my heart. Instead, she's lying unconscious in a hospital. I ran my hand through my hair, which was still a little damp from the ocean and waited for Isabelle and Jocelyn to come out.

When they did, Jocelyn told me she was going to go get some coffee so I could have some time alone with Clary. I thanked her and hugged her before she and Isabelle made their way back down the hall. I took a deep breath before I gathered the courage to open the door.

Seeing her lying in a hospital bed with all the monitors hooked up to her stopped me in my tracks as I tried to pull myself together. I sat down in the chair next to her bed and took hold of her hand, running my thumb over her strong pulse that was so weak just hours ago. Raising her hand to my lips, I kissed each of her fingers individually.

"God, Clary, I'm so sorry," I whispered against her perfect little fingers. I ran my hand over her face just to make sure she was there. "I should have talked to you, then maybe I would have been out there with you and none of this would have happened. I love you, so much."

I lowered my head and rested it on our entwined hands. I felt her finger twitch in my hand, but didn't think anything of it. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself in case she woke up. She needed me to be strong for her and I damn well would be. Her hand squeezed mine, and my head shot up to look into those beautiful green eyes.

"I love you, too."

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_Surprise! I hope you enjoyed a chapter in Jace's point of view because I loved writing it. Sorry to leave you guys hanging last chapter, but I hope this makes up for it. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	15. Chapter 15

"God, Clary, I'm so sorry," I heard Jace whisper and felt his breath against my hand. "I should have talked to you, then maybe I would have been there and none of this would have happened. I love you, so much."

I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. Judging by the warmth that was creeping up my arm, Jace was holding my hand. I tried to let him know that I could hear him, but he didn't notice my finger move. He was blaming himself and I couldn't let that happen. My head was throbbing and it felt like there were tiny needles pricking my arms and back, but Jace was here and I needed him.

Finally, my eyes fluttered open to see Jace resting his head on our entwined hands. I squeezed his hand to let him know that I was awake. His eyes met mine, green and gold and my heart soared because he was actually there. I didn't remember how I got there and right then, I didn't really care. All that mattered was that Jace was there and he didn't look angry with me. I had to clear the air, though. I couldn't have him having doubts, especially now.

"I love you, too," I said and his eyes lit up as he jumped up to cup my cheek in his hand. His eyes darted all over my body making sure I was all right and he hadn't hurt me with his sudden movement. I leaned my cheek into his palm and closed my eyes letting a tear fall, which he quickly wiped away. "Jace, you need to know what happened."

"Are you in pain," he asked ignoring my plea for him to hear me out. "Should I call the nurse?"

"Jace, listen to me." I grasped his chin and forced him to look me in the eyes. "What you saw at the shop was Jonathan. I don't know what he told you, but you have to know that I would never do something like that. I would never want to hurt you because I love you so damn much."

Instead of answering, Jace crashed his lips to mine and kissed me, tenderly holding my face in his hands. Tears spilled from my eyes as he kissed them away.

"Baby, I know," he said looking me straight in the eyes. "I didn't walk away because of you. I was pissed at myself for trusting Jonathan again. None of it had anything to do with you. I saw you try and push him away. Please, just don't worry. I'm fine. We're fine. Jonathan is leaving and I just want you to focus on getting better."

"He's leaving?" My eyes widen at his admission. He knew all along that Jonathan was betraying him. He knew that I went to Break Wall to find him.

"If he's smart, he'll leave and if he isn't, I have some calls to make to California because I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to leave the state."

"Wow." I closed my eyes letting everything sink in. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." He gingerly kissed my forehead before resting his forehead on mine. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember going to Break Wall to find you and surfing that wave, but anything after that is a blur. What happened? How did I get here?" I was suddenly very aware that I was in a hospital and I didn't remember what happened. Jace placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

"I got to Break Wall just as you were riding that wave. I watched it close out on you." He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "I figured you would be fine as long as you were tombstoning, but then the board went flying and I panicked. I dove in after you and carried you out of the water. I got you to the hospital and here we are."

He shook his head trying to clear the images I knew were flashing in his mind because they were in mine too. I didn't want him to worry about me because I was going to be fine, but I could tell how torn up he had been over this.

"I was so afraid I was going to lose you." He looked me in the eyes, running his hand along the length of my arm trying to convince himself that I really was okay. "I can't lose you, Clary."

"You won't." I pulled his face down to meet mine in a bruising kiss that rivaled every one we had ever had. My hands fisted in his shirt and I had to hold myself back from pulling him onto the bed with me because I figured if our first time shouldn't be in our shop, in shouldn't be in a hospital bed either. Plus, my head was really starting to hurt and I figured the medication was wearing off.

"I'm going to go let the nurse know you're awake." He rested his forehead against mine trying to catch his breath for a second before he left the room.

I looked around the room while Jace was gone and assessed my injuries. I assumed that I had cuts on my arms and back from the reef. When I felt my head, I noticed the bump that was probably the reason for the headache.

Jace returned with a nurse and a doctor in tow. The nurse fiddled with the IV and monitors, checking my vitals. Once she gave the doctor a nod, he began telling me what had happened and why I was there. He told me that I had a concussion and explained what that entailed. I would be kept over night for observation, but would be discharged in the morning if every thing looked fine. He told me that I wouldn't be able to drive or work for a few weeks until the swelling went down. The entire time he spoke, I couldn't take my eyes off of Jace. He was listening intently to every word the doctor said ensuring that I would be in good hands.

When the doctor was finished with his spiel, I looked outside and noticed that the sun had set and night had fallen. Jace sat down in his chair, taking my hand in his again before smoothing my hair away from my forehead.

Mom and Isabelle came rushing through the door and Jace let go of my hand, allowing them their time with me. He never wandered far away, standing in the corner of the room leaning against the wall.

"Are you okay, honey," Mom asked frantically. Could she not see that I was awake and coherent?

"Yes, Mom, I'm fine," I assured her, patting her hand that covered mine.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," this time it was Isabelle who was standing on the other side of my bed. "I can't handle being at work and getting a call that my best friend is in the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Iz," I said sarcastically. "I'll try to control the waves next time."

She smirked and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, clearly satisfied with my ability to through sarcasm at her.

"Well, I need to get back to the hotel," Isabelle said reluctantly letting go of my hand. "But I can call in sick if you need me to."

"No, I'll be fine. Go to work." She nodded and walked away, but Jace stopped her, whispering something in her ear, which she acknowledged with a nod. "Mom, you should go get something to eat. I'll be fine for twenty minutes and I can tell you haven't eaten all day."

Without a word, she nodded and walked past Jace patting him on the shoulder. He came back to my side and sat down in his chair.

"You should go, too, Jace," I said as he took my hand again. "Go get some food and shower. Get some rest. I can guarantee that nothing exciting is going to be happening here."

"If you think for one second that I would leave you right now, you're seriously crazier than I thought you were," he smirked and kissed my hand. "I'm not leaving. Ever."

"Fine." I scooted over in the bed and patted the empty space next to me. "How about you keep me company then?"

"I don't think that's allowed." His eyes shined with mischief.

"Who cares? I certainly don't and I want you to hold me right now. This whole hand holding thing is great, but definitely doesn't live up to _you_ holding _me_."

"Your mom will be back any minute." He was trying so hard to resist, but I could see him giving in.

"Again, who cares?" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me, kissing him lightly before pulling away. "What do you say, Cali?"

He smiled before lowering himself gently onto the bed and wrapping his arm around me allowing me to curl into his side. He smoothed my hair away from my forehead before kissing it.

The night flew by after that, mostly because I was sleeping and in the morning, I was able to go home. Mom had stayed until she needed to leave to open the restaurant for breakfast. I assured her that Jace was extremely capable of taking me home, especially since he had my Jeep with him.

Jace wheeled me out of the hospital as per hospital policy, but when I went to stand up to get in the Jeep, he scooped me up into his arms and placed me in the car, buckling my seatbelt for me.

"You do realize that I'm perfectly capable of getting in a car, right," I asked incredulously as he started the car.

"Just let me have this, okay," he pleaded with those stupid golden eyes staring into mine. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest as he started driving home.

I leaned my head against the window and enjoyed the scenery. Jace held my hand between shifting gears because he hadn't lost contact with me in one way or another since the night before. I wasn't about to complain.

When I noticed that we were on Jace's street and not mine, I perked up and questions started running through my mind.

"Jace, why are we at your house," I asked as he pulled into his driveway. "I thought you were taking me home."

He came around to the passenger side and scooped me out of the seat carrying me to the front door.

"Don't be mad," he prefaced. "I had Isabelle and Alec move your things over here last night because I couldn't live with you recovering anywhere but here and I want you to live here with me."

"So, you just made this decision without asking my opinion?" He laid me down on the couch, pulling a blanket over me and sat down next to me, resting my feet on his lap.

"You're mad." It wasn't a question, but a statement. I wasn't mad exactly, but I would have liked him to ask me to move in rather than just move me in without me knowing.

"No, I'm not mad, just surprised." He started rubbing my feet and I was beginning to forget what we were talking about.

"Do you not want to live here?" He looked hurt, like I had just taken away his favorite toy.

"No, of course, I do. Jace, that's not it. I want to live here. Hell, I basically live here anyway."

"Good, because I want to fall asleep and wake up with you next to me every single day."

"As you wish." He smiled at my _The Princess Bride_ reference because I knew it was secretly his favorite movie. He would never admit it out loud, but after we watched it for the fifth time, I figured it out. Pressing his lips to my forehead, he got up and went to the kitchen to make me some tea and soup.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Jace and I were together and moving forward. We could worry about Jonathan and everything else later. We loved each other and he was going to take care of me while I recovered. I thought about what would happen when I tried to surf again because of what happened the last time, but I quickly pushed the thought away. If I did have a problem, I knew I would be okay because Jace would be there and help me through it.

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:)


	16. Chapter 16

"Jace, I can make my own breakfast," I shouted from Jace's bedroom, I mean, our bedroom. I still hadn't gotten used to calling it that.

Pillows surrounded me and propped me up in bed. Jace had moved the TV to the bedroom so I wouldn't have to move to even watch TV. It was ridiculous. I had been stuck in that house for the past week and I was going totally stir crazy. Jace refused to let me do anything for myself, which was getting annoying. I had a concussion; I wasn't dying. He was completely sweet, but this whole overprotective thing had to go.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," he yelled back from the kitchen. "What do you want this morning?"

"I want to get out of bed, but that's obviously not going to happen." I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that, babe?"

"Nothing, honey." My voice dripping with sarcasm. "Can you come here for a second, please?"

Jace practically runs down the hall to the bedroom and skids to a stop in the doorway looking worried beyond belief. I felt slightly guilty because I knew this was how he would react, but only slightly. The boy was driving me crazy.

"What is it? Are you okay? Do I need to call the doctor?"

"Jace, calm down." I patted the empty space on the bed and gestured for him to join me on the bed. I pulled my legs up and crossed them, sitting up in bed. "Sit down, please. We need to talk." He sat down in front of me and I placed a hand on his knee. "It's been a week, Jace. I need to get out of the house and I need to do things for myself. I love you for taking care of me, but it's time for me to get out of bed."

"I know," he said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He squeezed my hand that was resting on his knee and scooted closer to me so I could curl into his side. "I have been a little overbearing."

"A little?"

"Shush, woman. I'm admitting it and that's the important part." He kissed my temple and placed his hand on my hip. "I promise to ease up on you. I just have a really hard time leaving you because I can't protect you if I'm not here."

Jace had spent the past week working on boards and only going to the shop when absolutely necessary. When he did go to the shop, he had Isabelle come and sit with me, which worked out perfectly because there was so much I needed to talk to her about. We talked about the direction my relationship with Jace was moving in and my worries that Jonathan wasn't done messing with us.

When I got home from the hospital, Jace made a call to Jonathan's probation officer in California. Just as Jace had suspected, Jonathan was never supposed to leave California and there was a warrant out for his arrest. Jace had been in contact with the probation officer every day since then and Jonathan still hadn't shown up in California. The last time we heard anything from him was when Jace saw him the day of my accident and told him to get his stuff out of his house. When we got home, there was no sign that Jonathan had ever been there. His bags and boards were all gone and we assumed that he had taken our advice on heading back to the mainland, but if he had a warrant out, I doubted he was going to go back to California willingly.

Jace brought me back to reality when he said, "Why don't you come to the shop with me today?"

"Really," I asked, excited to see something other than the walls of our bedroom.

"Yes, but only for a little while and I swear if you start to feel sick, you need to tell me, okay?"

I threw my arms around his neck, knocking him back onto the bed giggling like a little girl. Before he could say anything, I slammed my mouth against his and shifted so I could straddle his hips and began kissing down his neck, only to make my way back to his lips. Everything seemed to be getting in our way lately and I wanted to end it. I just wanted to be with Jace and I didn't care when, where or how it happened, but I knew that Jace was going to be a gentleman and wait until I was completely recovered from my concussion. This kiss was pushing it and I knew he was going to push me away within seconds making some excuse to leave the room.

"We need to eat some breakfast," he said pushing me away and gasping for air right on cue. What a lame excuse. They were starting to get ridiculous. I mean, we need to eat breakfast? He was running out of excuses and resolve quickly. He scrambled out from under me and jumped up from the bed, exiting the room quickly. "What do you want, babe?"

"I don't care." I straightened myself and walked out of the bedroom, not worrying about Jace freaking out about me being on my feet for the first time in a week. I sat down at the breakfast bar and watched my amazing boyfriend move around the kitchen, making me breakfast, shirtless. "You really need to put a shirt on or something."

He turned from the stove where he was making what looked like French toast and gave me that cocky smirk he saved just for me. "I know, I'm pretty irresistible, right?" He looked down at his body and flexed every muscle just for me.

"And so humble, too." I took a sip of my passion-orange-guava juice to hide my smile.

"Do you want a mango?" He eyes brightened when he mentioned the mango. I don't know what this guy's deal with mangoes is, but it's pretty cute.

"What is it with you and mangoes? I swear you're going to turn into one if you're not careful."

"I'm okay with that." He shrugged his shoulders, not turning away from the stove. "Mangoes are nutritious and delicious."

I shook my head and turned to the newspaper that was sitting on the bar, immediately turning to the surf report out of habit. It had been a week and technically I could start surfing when I felt up to it, but I still wasn't sure how I would react when I tried to surf again. Jace saw me looking at the paper and he must have noticed my expression change because he set our plates down and came to wrap his arm around my shoulder to comfort me.

"What's wrong," he asked pressing his lips to the top of my head. He glanced down to see what I was looking at. "Are you missing it?"

"Of course, I'm missing it," I whispered closing the paper and pushing it away. Jace sat down in the stool next to me and turned me to face him resting his hands on my hips. "I've surfed every day for most of my life and I'm feeling a little lost without it."

"The doctor said you can start surfing again, but if you're not ready, you shouldn't push it." I could see the worry flash across his face.

"The thing is that I know I could paddle out right now and shred some waves, physically, but after what happened the last time, I'm worried that I'll freak out when I get in the water." I took a deep breath and Jace cupped my cheek rubbing his thumb back and forth. "It sucks because I'm only really me in the water and if I lose that feeling, what else will I have?"

"Well, you have me. I'll always be here for you and I know exactly how you feel because I'm the same way, so if it's up to me, you'll be able to get in the water again. We'll get through it together, but you'll never know unless you try, right?"

"Yeah." I dropped my head leaning forward, resting my head on his chest as Jace rubbed circles on my back. I took another deep breath before lifting my head back up. "What should we do?"

"We can hit Break Wall after we stop by the shop." He took my hands in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "We'll take one step at a time. We can just go in the water today. We don't have to surf. Or we can ride on the same board, so I'll be in control. We'll figure something out, but we'll do it together."

I took his face in my hands and kissed his lips lightly. "You're way too good for me." Another kiss. "I haven't really thanked you for being so amazing this week and I know I can act like I'm irritated or whatever, but I really do appreciate you taking care of me."

"You don't have to thank me. It's what I'm here for." He squeezed my side before smiling and lightening the mood. "Well, that and to give you some rocking eye candy."

I shook my head and turned to my breakfast, which looked delicious and I noticed that Jace had cut up a pineapple and a mango to top the French toast. He mixed my favorite fruit and his favorite to make us both happy. Jace kept his hand on my knee while we ate our breakfast in relative silence.

When we were finished, I cleared our plates and proceeded to do the dishes, much to the dismay of Jace. Apparently two plates were too heavy for me to be lifting so soon after my accident. Jace stood behind me the entire time I cleaned the kitchen just in case I got dizzy and he needed to catch me.

After I finished the dishes, I went to the bathroom to shower and get ready to leave. By "get ready," I mean throw a pair of jean shorts and a tank top on without doing or even drying my hair. Getting ready took about six and a half minutes.

Jace was waiting for me by the Jeep when I was done. He opened the door for me and made sure I was safely inside and buckled before he went around to the driver's side to start the car. True to form, Jace held my hand between shifting gears and we were in front of the shop before I knew it.

Walking into the shop, I immediately spotted my board. After the accident, I figured that the board was lost forever or that it broke, so I had resolved myself to make another one. Jace never told me that he got the board back, but seeing it on display in the shop made me want to get back on the water even more.

"Jace, how did you get my board," I asked as he looking at something on the computer at the front counter.

"Oh, the guy who helped me get you to the Jeep took it," he explained flippantly. "He saw the shop's logo on the bottom and brought it here, figuring that we could find the owner. He didn't know that we owned the shop. I went ahead and gave him a long board half off."

"Wow." I ran my fingers along the designs and images of that day appeared in my mind. I closed my eyes, trying to ward of the memories, but it wasn't working. I could hear Jace talking to me, but I couldn't answer him. Suddenly, I felt him beside me and opened my eyes.

"Are you okay?" I nodded quickly and turned into his arms. "Okay, well do you want to do this consultation with me?" He gestured to the woman who was waiting by the counter. I nodded and he led me to the counter.

I made it through the consultation with no problems and I was actually really excited to get started on her board. When she left, Jace informed me that the consultation was all we needed to take care of at the shop and it was already time to close up. We usually closed pretty early so we could surf before I had to go to my shifts at the bar. Most people called before they came in to buy a board and we only had a few walk-ins a day.

Jace grabbed my board from the display and put it in the Jeep while I closed up the shop. After taking a deep breath, I followed him to the car and got in, ready to face my fears and get back in the water. I refused to let this turn into a situation where I didn't surf for months and lost myself in the process. Jace deserved more than that. I deserved more than that.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Let me know what you think and leave a review! Love ya! :)_


	17. Chapter 17

Standing on the beach at Break Wall was like coming home. I was standing in the sand so my feet were covered by water while Jace waxed my long board for me and so far, I hadn't had a panic attack so I took that as a good sign. Jace and I were going to ride the same board the entire time because I liked the idea of him being in control at least this once, but I had to actually get out to the lineup for that to happen.

Jace came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, resting his chin on my head. I closed my eyes and leaned back into his chest. I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to do this, but I knew just having Jace there with me was going to make a huge difference. The last time I was hurt, the first time I tried to get in the water, I just went for it. I got on my board and froze, but this time I knew that I need to ease myself into it and not shock my system.

"How are you doing," Jace asked as he dropped a kiss on my head.

"Okay," I said after taking a deep breath. "Do you think we could just get in the water first, without the boards?"

"I'll do anything you want." I turned in Jace's arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed my forehead before leading me into the water. He held me close protecting me from my thoughts. My eyes were closed when I felt the water hit my waist. Jace wrapped his arms tightly around my body and lifted me in his arms as I wrapped my legs around his waist. "What's running through that beautiful mind of yours?"

That was a good question. I could feel the water sloshing around me. I could hear the waves crashing on the shore and the laughter of the people enjoying a day at the beach. Most of all, I could feel my fears being washed away as Jace held me in the water. The panic attack I experienced after my first accident was devastating, but I realized that I panicked because I was alone. My mom was able to get me back into the water months later because she loved me and knew I needed it. The difference this time was that I had someone who loved me from the beginning. I wasn't afraid of the water because I wasn't alone. I couldn't put into words what that meant to me, so I just buried my face into the crook of Jace's neck.

"Hey," he said rubbing my back. "Clary, talk to me."

"I'm in the water," I said as I pulled my face from his neck. Tears were pouring out of my eyes and I could see the worry on Jace's face. "I'm in the water and I'm not freaking out and it's because of you. Thank you."

We were completely in the water now and I knew that there was no way I could touch the bottom because the water came up to Jace's neck. I was perfectly fine with him holding me for a while before we went back into shore and got on the long board. I still wasn't sure how I would handle the surfing aspect of the ocean, but I was just happy that I could get in the water without having a meltdown.

Jace pulled my head back down to rest on his shoulder and held me tightly. I don't know how long we stayed out there just wrapped up in each other and I didn't really care. I finally pulled away from Jace and unwrapped my legs and arms from his body. I needed to see if I could be in the water without him because I knew he wasn't going to be there every time I wanted to be in the water. I floated a few feet away from him and treaded water waiting for the images of the accident to take over my mind, but it never happened. Jace's eyes were trained on me and he had his hands out, ready to grab me if I needed him.

I smiled at him and ducked underwater before swimming toward him and popping my head up right in front of him.

"I'll race you to shore," I said before diving toward shore and swimming as hard as I could.

I couldn't see Jace and I didn't know where he was until I was about ten feet from shore when Jace grabbed my ankle and pulled me back behind him. I scrambled to regain my lead, but couldn't before Jace reached the sand. He stood from the water and wiped his hand down his face, clearing the saltwater from his eyes while shaking the water from his hair. I stood and walked up to him before pushing him in the chest playfully. He barely moved.

"You cheater," I shouted as I smacked his arms and chest a couple of times while he laughed hysterically at me. Jace bent down wrapping his arms around my knees and throwing me over his shoulder. I scrambled to release myself from his grasp, but it was no use. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

Jace ignored me as he made his way to our board, placing it under his arm and headed back toward the parking lot and my Jeep. I was confused; I thought the whole reason for going to Break Wall was to surf, but apparently Jace had other ideas. He placed me in the passenger seat of the Jeep, still not telling me what he was doing, and put the board in the back. I eyed him questioningly as he started the engine.

"You're really not going to tell me what's going on," I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Nope," he said popping the "p." He looked over at me as my mouth hung open in shock. He chuckled and put his hand at the back of my neck where his fingers worked out the tension that was suddenly gathered there. I didn't like surprises. "Calm down, you're going to like it."

I threw my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes trying to just listen to the music playing in the car and let Jace take me wherever he wanted to take me. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and knew exactly where he was taking me. He pulled up to a hotel in Lahaina that I knew very well. When I was younger, my friends and I used to come to the beach the hotel backed up to because there was this lava rock that jutted out into the water, essentially making a little cliff. It was called Black Rock and it was about twenty feet high, making it a fun attraction for locals and tourists alike to jump from. The water was just deep enough that you wouldn't have to worry about hitting the bottom and there was no coral to worry about, as well.

"What are we doing here, Cali," I asked as he pulled into a parking space and got out of the car. I couldn't say that I wasn't excited at the prospect of jumping off of Black Rock again and I hoped that was what he brought me there to do.

"I've lived here for over three months and haven't jumped off of Black Rock," he said as he helped me out of the car, not that I needed help, but it was sweet. "I think it's like a crime or something, so we are going to go out there and jump off of that rock."

He grabbed my hand and started walking toward the entrance of the hotel, but I stopped and pulled him back so I could kiss him. "You're cute and I would love to jump off of Black Rock with you."

He chuckled and resumed walking through the hotel so we could get to the beach. We quickly made it through the hotel and to the sand that would lead us to Black Rock. I ran ahead of Jace into the water and he followed me in. The only way to get up to the spot where you jump was to swim out to the end of the rock and climb up from there, so that's exactly what we did. Once I got to the spot where we could climb up, Jace gave me a little boost and followed me up the rock. We climbed to the top of the rock and stood in line behind tourists and locals.

"Have you done this before," Jace asked as we waited for our turn.

"Yeah, we used to do it all the time," I told him. "I've even gotten Isabelle to do it a couple of times." He looked a little nervous as we got closer to the top. "Have you ever cliff dived before?"

"No, actually." He shook his head. "There aren't too many cliffs to jump off of that would land you in safe waters in Santa Cruz."

"Don't worry, it's not that bad."

"I'm not worried. Who said I was worried? This was my idea." He was rambling and I found it interesting. I had never seen Jace scared of anything. The closest thing I had seen was when I woke up in the hospital and he was afraid he might lose me, but this was different.

"Okay, then." I stepped up to the highest spot on the edge of the rock and held out my hand for him. "Are you ready? We'll do it together." He nodded his head and took my hand before stepping up next to me. We held each other's hands tightly and looked down at the crystal clear blue water beneath us. "On the count of three. One."

I squeezed Jace's hand.

"Two."

He leaned down and kissed me.

"Three."

We swung our arms, bent our legs and jumped out. The feeling of falling is an amazing feeling. For a split second, you feel like you're flying and then your stomach drops and the adrenaline kicks in before you hit the water. We plunged under the water and swam our way to the surface, gasping for air. I turned to face Jace, who had let go of my hand when we hit the water, and saw him shaking his hair from his eyes with the biggest smile on his face. He pulled me to him by the waist and kissed me like I had never been kissed before.

"That was amazing," he said before kissing me again. "I love you." Another kiss. "Lets do it again."

I laughed as he pulled me through the water to the edge of the rock again. We repeated the process and climbed to the top. This time, Jace decided he wanted to go by himself, only to do some crazy trick that scared the crap out of me. He stood backwards, with his back to the water shooting me a cocky grin before he executed a perfect backflip into the water. How the hell he rotated perfectly off of such a high platform, I'll never know, but that was Jace. He was ridiculously good at anything he tried and it was so frustrating sometimes because I was so competitive.

With my heart pounding, I looked over the edge to find Jace looking up at me with that stupid smirk challenging me to do something amazing. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I hadn't done it since I was a kid, but back then it had been perfect. I stepped up to the ledge and stood backwards, just as Jace had. Instead of doing a simple backflip, I did a backflip with a full twist, even more difficult than what Jace had done. I popped out of the water in front of Jace, who had a determined look on his face.

We climbed to the top and tried to outdo each other's tricks five more times. Jace finally conceded and agreed that I was the superior cliff diver.

As we drove home, I looked over to Jace and couldn't help but lean over and kiss his cheek before leaning my head on his shoulder. That day was perfect in every way and Jace made it that way. He helped me conquer my fear of returning to the water after my accident and made it seem like the accident never happened. Everything was better with Jace and he gave light to my life where everything had been dim before. I had never thought I lived a boring or ordinary life until I met Jace and he brought me to life.

I didn't actually surf that day, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that I could have if I wanted to and I wanted to because I wasn't afraid of the unknown anymore. I knew that I had Jace and my family and the ocean and that was all that mattered to me.

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:)


	18. Chapter 18

One Sunday evening, Jace and I were getting ready to head over to my mom's house for family dinner. As I pulled on the sundress I decided to wear, I spotted a piece of paper sticking out of a pile on the dresser that caught my attention. I picked it up and it was a flyer for an amateur surf competition the next weekend. Quiksilver was sponsoring it and the top three placers would earn a spot on the team for a world tour that summer.

I immediately wondered if Jace had entered and why he would hide it from me. It had been three weeks since I got back in the water again and Jace and I had surfed every day. I went back to work and the board shop was busier than ever. If Jace wanted to try for a spot on the Quiksilver team, I wanted that for him. It was one of the first things he told me the night we met. He moved to Hawaii to open the shop and get noticed for the Quiksilver team. He had opened the shop and I thought he at least needed to compete and see where he stood among the other surfers trying to make it.

"Jace, what is this," I asked as I entered the living room where Jace was waiting for me and handed him the flyer.

"Oh, it's nothing, babe," he took the flyer from me and placed it on the counter before kissing my forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the competition? Are you competing?"

"Just forget it, Clary." He grabbed the keys off the counter and started toward the front door.

"Why aren't you going to compete, Jace? This is exactly why you moved to Hawaii, isn't it?"

"No, I moved here to open the board shop and I did. Can we please go now?" I stood my ground crossing my arms over my chest. "You're really not going to let this go?"

"No, because I don't understand why you won't talk to me about it." He came and sat down on the couch so I moved to stand in front of him so he could see me. "Do you think that I'll be jealous or something because I won't be. You know that I'm done trying to be pro. It's just not my thing, but you could be so good as a pro. Why wouldn't you take that chance?"

"It's not that, Clary." He rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands.

"Then, what is it, Jace?" I sat down on the coffee table in front of him and took his hands in mine. "Tell me, honey."

"If I make the team, I'll have to travel for three months." He took a deep breath and I cupped his face rubbing my thumb along his cheekbone. "That's three months that I would have to be away from you and I don't want to do that. I can't stand spending part of the day without you. How am I supposed to spend three months without you? So, I'm just not even going to put myself in that position."

"Jace, I love you, but that's ridiculous." He gave me a confused look and I took his face in my hands. "You have to at least try. If you make the team, that will be amazing. I can hold down the fort at the shop for three months. We'll still be able to see each other when you're on the other islands. Hell, they even have stops on Maui. I can do that because it's time that I support you in something you want to do. You are an amazing surfer and the world deserves to see that."

"I love you." He pulled me to him and slammed his mouth against mine. I fell into his lap and rested my legs on either side of his hips. My fingers found his hair and pulled him tighter against me. He leaned back on the couch pulling me with him so I lay on top of him. "Clary, we have to go to your mom's for dinner. She's expecting us in twenty minutes."

"Don't care. Just kiss me." I fell back on him as he lifted me into his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He carried me to our bedroom and laid me gently on the bed.

Was the timing perfect? No. Was it a special place or a special time? No. Was it perfect? Yes, because everything with Jace was perfect, especially this.

o.O.0.O.o

As we drove to my mom's house, I couldn't get the dopey grin off of my face. We were extremely late, but I didn't care at the moment. Jace agreed to compete in the surf competition and I was going to be supportive. When I really thought about it, after I told Jace that I would be fine if he went on tour, I realized that it would totally suck to be away from him for three months, but I still wanted this for him.

We still needed to figure out how I was going to handle the shop by myself while he was gone if he made the team, but none of it really mattered because I knew everything would work itself out. As long as we stuck together and supported each other, none of the other crap mattered.

When we finally made it to my mom's house, we were just under an hour late and I knew she was going to be pissed. I let us into the house and found Mom, Luke, Alec, and Isabelle waiting for us in the kitchen.

"Oh, so nice of you to join us," Isabelle said as we walked in the kitchen. She narrowed her eyes at me like she knew what had happened. She could read me better than anyone.

"Honey, I was starting to get worried," Mom said as she wrapped me in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Jocelyn," Jace apologized as he hugged my mother. "We took a nap and lost track of time."

"Right," Isabelle mumbled under her breath. "A nap." I elbowed her in the side when I got to her side across the kitchen. She laughed as we all made our way to the dinning room to eat. The food was still warm because the food was never ready when Mom said it was supposed to be.

Jace sat down next to me as we all took our seats at the table. He had started coming to family dinners two weeks after we started dating and he blended perfectly with my family. Mom loved him and he and Luke always had something new to talk about whether it was surfing or books.

I heard Luke clear his throat to get our attention and he was holding Mom's hand on the table.

"We wanted to tell you kids something," he began as Mom nodded for him to continue. "And we wanted to tell all of you at the same time because you're all so important to Jocelyn and have become important to me." My mom smiled at him, which must have given him the courage to continue after he took a deep breath. "Jocelyn and I are getting married. I asked her to marry me last night and she said yes. We wanted you to be the first to know."

The room fell silent as we let the news sink in. I don't know how Jace expected me to react, but he placed a hand on my knee and squeezed to calm me. How did I feel about my mom getting married? I loved the idea; it was just a lot to take in. Mom and Luke had been dating for eight months and I had only known about it for three. Honestly though, who was I to say they weren't ready for something. I knew as well as anyone that you don't find love; it finds you. I wasn't looking for love that day at the beach when I met Jace, but he literally dropped into my life and I haven't regretted a moment since.

"Clary," Mom prodded after a few moments of silence. "Honey, say something."

"Congratulations," I said after a beat and stood up to hug my mother. As we stood there embracing, Luke shook Alec and Jace's hands before hugging Isabelle, who was already blabbering about color palettes and floral arrangements. I swiped under my eyes at the tears that were falling.

"Are you okay with this?" Mom held me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes so she would know exactly how I felt.

"Are you kidding?" I brushed her off like she was being ridiculous. "This is amazing, Mom. I'm so happy for you guys."

"Good, I was worried you would feel weird about it." I wiped her tears away before she continued. "Now, I feel like this goes without saying, but will you be my maid of honor?"

"Of course!" I hugged her again and started crying again before Jace was behind me asking to cut in. Luke was standing beside him and I jumped into his arms congratulating him. "Thank you for making my mom happy."

"She makes me happy too, Clary," he whispered in my ear. "Happier than I've ever been."

For the rest of the evening, the group split up into girls and boys. The boys were busy sitting on the couch watching whatever sporting event was on TV and not caring about anything the girls were talking about. Isabelle grilled Mom about what she was thinking for the ceremony and reception. We really just spent three hours on Pinterest planning our dream weddings and lives, making no progress on the very real wedding that was about to happen.

When Jace and I finally fell into bed that night, I was on cloud nine. My mom was getting married and Jace was finally going to pursue his dream of being a professional surfer. I couldn't have been happier. As I lay in bed, Jace pulled me to him so my back was against his chest and he rested his chin on my shoulder, placing kisses on my shoulder and neck every few seconds.

"Do you ever think about it," Jace whispered into my hair. When I didn't answer he continued. "Do you ever think about marriage and kids?"

I tensed and he kissed the back of my neck, immediately relaxing me. What was I supposed to say? Of course, I thought about it. I thought about it all the time, probably several times a day, but Jace and I were still fairly new. How would it sound that I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with someone I had only known for four months?

"Do you," I asked deciding I wanted to hear his answer first.

"Yeah, I do. Is that weird?" I turned so I could face him and took his face in my hands before bringing his lips to mine.

"No, it's not weird." I kissed his cheeks, his eyelids, before returning to his lips. "I think about it, too. I love you."

"I love you, so much, Clary." I rested my cheek against his chest waiting for the exhaustion of the day to take over and listened to Jace's strong heartbeat. "Do you really think I can make the Quiksilver team?"

"I think you're an amazing surfer and you have a real chance." I ran my hand up and down his spine. "You'll never know if you don't try."

"You're right. I just really don't know what I'll do for three months without you."

"You'll be amazing and we'll talk all the time. We can do it, I promise." I really meant it. If this was something Jace wanted to do and I knew it was, I wanted him to do it. We could make it three months apart. What I was worried about was Jace not taking the chance and resenting me later on. I could handle three months apart if it meant keeping Jace for the rest of my life.

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_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be the surf competition and I'm pretty excited about that. Oh, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Jonathan. He will be making another appearance soon. So let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	19. Chapter 19

This was something I could never get tired of. Just because I didn't compete anymore didn't mean that I didn't enjoy watching the competitions. I walked with Jace to the check in tent so he could get his heat number and his rash guard. This competition was split up into five heats with six surfers in each heat.

The structure of the competition was simple. Each heat would be twenty minutes long. Each surfer would try to catch as many waves as possible to be judged by the panel of judges. At the end of the heat, each surfer's lowest scoring wave would be eliminated. Then, the score would be averaged from the remaining waves. The average number of waves each surfer is able to catch and be scored on was four waves. The competition was an all-day event.

There would be three rounds. The top three surfers from each heat would advance to the semi-final round and the top surfer from each heat in that round would advance to the finals.

Jace was going to be in heat three, so he had at least an hour before he needed to be ready, so I decided it was a good time to show him the surprise I had for him. I pulled the board bag out of my Jeep, which Jace thought had his short board, but had something completely different inside. Jace was waiting for me at the little cheering section that our friends and family had set up. When I got to him, I pulled him aside so I could show him what I had.

"What's up, babe," Jace asked when I stopped and had him stand a few feet from me. I took a second to observe him. He was still shirtless because it was annoying to wear the rash guard unless you were surfing. The red rash guard was slung over his bare shoulder that was perfectly sun kissed and his board shorts hung low on his hips.

"I have something for you," I said as I set the board bag down. I unzipped the bag and started to take the board I made for Jace out of the bag. I had been planning on making this board as a gift to Jace for a while and when he decided to compete, I knew it would be the perfect time to give it to him. The board was simple, but I wanted him to have a part of me while he was out there and this was the best thing I could think of. The board was a normal short board with a pointed nose. It had a red base and the designs were black and tribal in nature, but I had incorporated the One Love Boards logo and our initials into the design. "If you don't want to use this board, I have the other one in my car."

Jace took the board from me and examined every inch of it. I had already put he fins in and attached a leash. I just wasn't sure if Jace had a superstitious attachment to his other board making him not want to use this one. He was silent as he turned the board over and I may have started to freak out, thinking that he didn't like the board.

"You don't like it," I stated. "Oh, I knew I should have waited until later to give it to you—" Jace cut me off when he pulled me to him and kissed me. He poured every once of love he could mange into that kiss and so did I.

"I love it, Clary," he whispered against my lips. "Stop doubting yourself because this board is amazing. How did you do this without me knowing?"

"Remember that short board that I did the consultation for a couple of weeks ago?" He nodded. "Well, that was for me. I ordered the board so I could design a board for you. I worked on it at night while you were sleeping. It took me a few nights to get the design done."

"You never cease to amaze me, Clarissa Fray." She smiled down at me and kissed me lightly before we made our way back to his cheering section. The announcer came over the loud speaker and announced that Jace's heat needed to line up at the water. "All right, I better go."

"Okay," I said placing my hand on his arm and reaching up to kiss him before he bent down, picked up his new board and slipped the rash guard over his head. "I love you."

"Love you, too, babe." One more kiss before he placed the board under his arm and jogged down to the water's edge.

I sat down in the beach chair between Isabelle and my mom. They both put their hands on my knee and squeezed knowing I was nervous for Jace. We had spent the past week preparing for the competition and I knew Jace was ready for this.

"He's going to do great, honey," Mom said as she leaned over and patted my knee.

I spotted the red rash guard down by the water and never took my eyes off of it. The horn sounded and the surfers, along with Jace, jogged into the water and started their paddle out to the lineup. Once he got out to the lineup, I couldn't stand sitting anymore so I stood up and started pacing. A set was building and Jace let the surf couple of waves pass by, letting the other surfers take them. On the fourth wave, Jace whipped his board around and started paddling. When the wave formed underneath him, he popped up on his board and turned to face the wave, riding down the line. He carved the wave perfectly and found his way inside the barrel. When he was finished riding the wave, he rode over the back of it and made his way back out to the lineup.

At the end of his heat, Jace ended up the leader, which advanced him to the next round. After he got out of the water, he ripped his rash guard off and came over to us. I handed him a towel and took his rash guard from him as he set his board down in the sand.

"You did great," I shouted and threw my arms around his neck. "That second wave was beautiful. You're doing great, baby."

"Thanks," Jace said pulling me into his side and rested his hand on my hip. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he talked with everyone who was there to support him. He had a good hour before he had to surf for the next round, so I figured we could get something to eat. We walked hand in hand to the tent that was selling mixed plates.

"Ooh, they have spam masubi," I gushed when we looked at the menu. Spam masubi is basically a slice of grilled spam, rice and sauce wrapped in seaweed. Pretty much the most delicious thing ever.

"I'm all about Hawaii's obsession with spam, but it's weird sometimes," Jace said as I took a bite of my masubi. Jace opted for chicken, with the normal mixed plate sides, rice and macaroni salad. "So, what do you think? I haven't really been paying attention to the other guys, but do you think I have a shot?"

"Yes, Jace. You are just as good, if not better than all of the guys here." I kissed his cheek. "Especially after that first heat, you're looking pretty good, in more ways than one." I waggled my eyebrows up and down as he pulled me in by the waist and nuzzled my neck.

We spent the next hour sitting with my family and watching the other heats. Jace was called to the water again and I helped him get the wet rash guard on before he grabbed his board and made his way back down to the water, but not without his good luck kiss.

Jace rode four waves in his second heat and landed himself in first place again, which meant he would move on to the final round. My heart was pounding so fast when he emerged from the water because the heat had been extremely close between Jace and the other guys in the heat. Jace dropped his board in the sand again and ripped off his rash guard again before plopping down in the sand next to me.

I handed Jace a bottle of water, which he downed in three seconds so I gave him another one. It is extremely important to stay hydrated when you're spending so much time in the ocean.

"You're doing great, Jace," Mom said leaning forward to talk to Jace. "The waves are dying out now, so you're going to need to be a charger in the finals. The guy from the first heat has been dropping in on people all day, so watch out for that."

Jace and I laughed as my mom gave Jace advice. She had never competed professionally, but she had been in her fair share of amateur competitions when she was younger and watching me compete for a short amount of time gave her an outside insight that could be useful.

Another hour passed before Jace was being called back to the water. After he pulled his rash guard on and grabbed his board, I pulled him aside.

"Listen," I said threading my fingers with his. "I just want you to know that no matter what happens out there, I love you. However, I know you can do this. The waves are slowing down, so hit the gas pedal and get in the barrel. Shred those waves like I know you can and make that team."

"Thanks, coach," he said laughing as he kissed me lightly before he turned to jog down to the water and I smacked his butt playfully.

I took a deep breath as I sat down in my chair. I spotted Jace down by the water and followed him after the horn sounded and he paddled out to the lineup. The first wave he took, he wiped out and had to make his way back out to the lineup quickly. He let the next five waves pass him before he took another. This one was perfect. He carved the wave beautifully and got a short barrel ride.

I let out the breath I had been holding when he jumped over the back of the wave. I looked over to the leader board and noticed that that wave moved him into second place. After the next wave, though, he dropped to third. He needed a perfect way to secure his spot on the team. With a glance at the clock, I knew there were only a few minutes left in the heat and the sets had died down. Then, I saw it and I knew had to have seen it too because he started paddling out past the lineup to where a wave was forming on the outside.

"Big bomb on the outside," Luke said from the other side of my mom. We all stood from our chairs and I looked at the clock hoping he had enough time. "He just has to drop in before the buzzer sounds."

Isabelle and Mom grabbed my hands as we held our breaths and saw Jace turn to paddle for the perfect wave. After a few strokes, the wave formed underneath him and he popped up. I glanced at the lock and the buzzer sounded at that moment, but Jace had already dropped. He made it. Now, he just had to have the ride of his life.

Jace rode that wave like it was made for him. He carved in and out of it smoothly and I noticed him lean forward to get ahead of the barrel. It was the perfect wave and I knew after he bailed out that he had done it. With a glance at the leaderboard, I noticed that he moved into second place. I jumped up and down along with my mom and Isabelle as Jace emerged from the water.

I ran down to where Jace came out of the water and saw him drop his board just before I jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms and legs around him.

"Oh my God," I shouted in his ear before peppering kisses all over his face. "That was amazing, Jace."

He pushed me back slightly so he could capture my lips with his own. "I can't believe it," he said as he buried his face in my neck.

"You did it!" I kissed him again feeling so incredibly proud and in love with him. "You're on the Quiksilver team!"

* * *

_:) Leave a review!_


	20. Chapter 20

Today was the day. Jace was going to be leaving on a three-month world tour with the Quiksilver team and I couldn't have been more proud. After he placed second in the competition, we had a week before he had to leave. Not much time, but we made the most of it. All custom board orders were put on hold, so people could still by off the racks. Jace left me about twenty boards in the shed that I could design and paint to refill the racks when I needed to.

The whole week, I had tried to keep busy and not think about the fact that Jace would be gone for three months. I kept telling myself that it was only three months and we could do it, but sitting in the Jeep as we drove to the airport, I kept trying to think of ways to make him stay, which wasn't fair to him. This was his dream and I had to be supportive, which I was wholeheartedly, but it sucked, for lack of a better word.

I pulled into the parking lot at the airport and took Jace's boards out of the back. With a bag in each hand, Jace led me to the entrance. That was as far as I was going to go, since security in that airport was literally right next to the check in counter. I set Jace's boards on the conveyor belt that would take them to the plane and waited for him to check in. Once he had his boarding pass, Jace turned and put his arm around my shoulders leading me away from the desk.

We stopped just outside the security checkpoint and faced each other. Without another word, Jace pulled me into his arms and I rested my cheek against his chest willing the tears away. Jace pulled my head back so he could see me, but I kept my arms wrapped around his waist. I gave him an attempt at a smile before he pressed his lips against my forehead. I closed my eyes, allowing the tears to fall.

"I love you, do you know that," he asked with his lips still against my forehead. I nodded and smiled.

"I love you, too," I whispered. "I'm going to miss you, so much." I leaned up to kiss him, knowing that he had to leave if he was going to make his flight.

"You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you, pretty girl." He kissed me again. "I'll call you as soon as I can." One more kiss. "I love you." I nodded before he kissed me in that soul searing way that only Jace could. He kissed my forehead before turning away from me to go stand in the security line.

I stood there for a few minutes before I gathered the strength to go back to my car where I cried for five minutes realizing this was real. Jace was going to be gone for three months, but I had to remind myself that he was coming back. Three months from now, I would be in the exact same spot waiting for him to come home to me.

Instead of going home, I went to Alec and Isabelle's house, formerly known as my house. Isabelle was sitting on the front porch, drinking tea when I pulled up.

"Hey, best friend," she said as she waved at me. "How's the boy?"

"He's gone," I said plopping down in the chair next to her. "I just dropped him off at the airport."

"Are you okay?" She rubbed my back and poured me a glass of iced tea.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, it just sucks right now." I sipped the tea, which had a hint of passion fruit in it and leaned back in the chair.

"Where do they go first?"

"Fiji. They have a competition this weekend and then they're going to Africa. I'm so excited for him because it will be an amazing experience and he'll have so much fun. He deserves this more than anybody I can think of." A closed my eyes and tried not to think of the empty house I had to go back to. "Oh, Mom called this morning and wanted to know if we could go dress shopping this afternoon."

"Cool, let's go." We hopped up out of our chairs and I followed Isabelle inside so she could grab her stuff, which included a wedding binder that contained more ideas for Mom and Luke's wedding than we needed.

I drove to the dress shop with Isabelle in my passenger seat, thankful for the distraction. When we walked into the dress shop, Mom was waiting for us inside talking to the sales person and telling her, what kind of dress she was looking for.

My mom and Luke were going to get married at the end of the summer on the beach with a small ceremony and a reception at the restaurant. They said that they didn't need a huge wedding and they just wanted to be married. The only obstacle was Jace being away because Mom wanted him to be there.

"Oh, good, you're here," Mom said as she hugged both Isabelle and me. "What kind of dress do you think I should wear?"

"I think you should try on a bunch of different dresses and you'll find the one," Isabelle suggested and I knew she just wanted to sit in the shop for as long as possible.

With that, Mom was taken back to the dressing rooms to try on a bunch of different dresses. After four different dresses, she was beginning to lose hope, but then she tried on one more.

This dress was absolutely beautiful and fit her personality. When she came out to show us the dress, it was the one that made Isabelle and me cry. She wore a floor length, off white dress that flowed effortlessly to the ground. It was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline. It looked bohemian in nature and complemented the simplicity of my mother and the ceremony she was striving for. It was _the_ dress.

After Mom ordered the dress and her measurements were taken, we headed to the restaurant for dinner. I was constantly checking my phone to see if Jace had called, but I knew he had things he had to do before he could call me. He had an orientation with the team, he had to check in to the hotel, I assumed he took a nap and then he had dinner with the team. He was busy and I understood that.

"Have you talked to Jace yet, Clary," Mom asked as we ate our dinner.

"No," I replied quietly. "He's busy and he'll call me tonight."

"You know, if you don't want to stay in the house alone, your old room is always available," Isabelle suggested.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine. He's coming back. It's not like he's leaving forever and its only three months. Everything is going to be okay because I want this for him."

"Okay." The conversation ended there. I didn't want to think about Jace not being home. I knew he was coming back, but it didn't make him being gone any easier. He had only been gone less than twelve hours and I already missed him so much. I needed to get back to the place where I wasn't so dependent on him and this time apart would allow me to do that. Oh, who was I kidding? He was my life and I wouldn't want it any other way.

When I finally walked into the house at the end of the night, I could feel Jace's absence. I had never come home at night to an empty house. Walking through the house, I realized what the next three months would actually be like. I would be here, working at the shop and helping my mom plan the wedding, without Jace. When had my life become so dependent on Jace? The sad part, or not so sad part, was that I didn't even care that I was dependent on him because I loved him so much.

I fell into bed and buried my face in Jace's pillow, which still smelled like him. Hugging the pillow to my chest, I heard my phone ring. I scrambled to get my phone from the bedside table.

"Hello," I answered franticly.

"Hey, pretty girl," Jace said on the other side of the phone and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Jace." I whispered and fell back onto the bed. Just hearing his voice made me feel better. "How's Fiji?"

"Great, actually. We all went surfing this afternoon after we checked in to the hotel and the waves are incredible. I never thought you could get clearer water than Hawaiian waters, but somehow they have it. I think we should take a surf trip together and travel the world."

"Honey, I've been to all of these places before." I chuckled at how excited he sounded.

"Yeah, but not with me." He sounded like he wanted to say something else, but changed the subject. "Anyway, when we were surfing, a bunch of the guys saw my board and loved it; the one you made me."

"Oh, really? That's cool, what did they say?"

"Well, let's just say we have five more custom board orders when I get back." I squealed when I realized that professional surfers wanted our boards. This would mean huge things for the business and we might even be able to get some sponsorship deals from it. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too." We fell silent for a moment, but I didn't want the call to end, so I began searching for anything to keep the conversation going. "Mom got her wedding dress today. It's beautiful, Jace. Luke is going to die when he sees her in it."

"I'm sure she could wear a wetsuit and Luke would still think she was the most beautiful thing in the world." I laughed, wishing I could see his bright eyes and smile I knew was plastered on his face. "What are you going to wear?"

"I don't know. Mom said I could choose my dress, but I'm not really a dress kind of person, so I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Why don't you just have Isabelle help you choose a dress?"

"Because, then I would end up in the most outlandish dress for a simple wedding on the beach and I want something simple, like me."

"You are anything but simple, Clary, but I'm sure you'll find the perfect dress." I smiled because Jace would always say things like that that made me believe that I was beautiful. He made me feel beautiful. "Listen, babe, I have to get to sleep. We're going out for dawn patrol tomorrow and that's only a few hours away."

"Okay." I tried not to sound disappointed because I didn't know how I was going to sleep without him next to me. We had only lived together for a short time, but I was already accustomed to falling asleep in his arms. "Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course." He paused like he didn't want to hang up either. "I love you, Clary."

"I love you, too, Jace." I took a deep breath knowing that I needed to let him go. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, pretty girl."

As I hung up with Jace, I was reassured that everything would be just fine. We loved each other and that was all that really mattered. These three months would fly by and then we could focus on the rest of our lives together. I knew there was a chance that Jace could go on tour again, but I would just have to figure out a way to be okay with that because I wasn't going to make Jace give up his dreams, even if they didn't include me.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story. I know this chapter was a little short, but it was more of a filler chapter leading up to what I want to happen while Jace is gone. Let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	21. Chapter 21

Two months, three days and twelve hours. That was how long Jace had been gone. I was counting down the days, hours, minutes until he came home. The past two months had been hard, but I had found a rhythm at the shop and surfed every day with my mom. Jace and I talked every day and I had even seen him once when they were on Oahu, but twelve hours compared to two months without him was like I didn't see him at all. I spent my days working at the shop, surfing and helping plan the wedding.

I was working at the shop one morning when I heard my phone ring. Tearing my gaze away from the sketch I was working on, I looked at my phone and saw that Jace was calling me. My heart soared because he didn't usually call me during the day.

"Hey, Cali," I answered the phone and turned to lean my back against the counter.

"Um, hello, is this Clary Fray," a voice that wasn't Jace responded on the other end of the phone.

"Y-yes, who is this?" My heart dropped knowing that something was wrong. Jace wouldn't just let someone else call me from his phone.

"Hi, Clary, this is the manager for Jace's tour." My silence encouraged him to continue. "The guys were surfing this morning in Costa Rica, as you probably know, and Jace ran into some rocks." I gasped and tried to clear my mind of he worry that came along with that statement. "He should be okay, but he was unconscious for a few minutes and he might have some broken bones. He's being airlifted to Florida right now."

"I'm going to the airport, right now." I scrambled to get my wallet and keys from behind the counter and began closing down the shop. When I was halfway out the door, I realized that it would take me at least twelve hours to get to Jace. By the time I got there, he would be discharged, if what the manager had said were true. If he only had a couple of broken bones and a bump on the head, he would be on a plane home by tomorrow.

"Clary, you don't need to come here. He'll be fine and it would take you longer to get there than he would actually be in the hospital." He confirmed my thoughts and I calmed down. "We just landed in Florida, so I should be getting an update soon. I know it's hard to just sit tight and wait while he's halfway around the world, but I promise he is in good hands and will, most likely, be coming home soon."

I took a deep breath and sat down on one of the display tables, knowing my legs would give out at any moment. It was going to be extremely difficult to sit there and wait while Jace was in a hospital twelve hours away, but I would be more useful at home than on a plane.

"Can you have Jace call me as soon as he can?"

"Of course, and if I can give you any updates before then, I will."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone and sat there for a few minutes. When Jace left to go on tour, the last thing I expected was for him to get hurt. He just seemed invincible in my eyes, even though I knew better than anyone how dangerous our sport was. I sent a quick text to my mom, Isabelle and Alec telling them what happened and that I would update them when I knew something.

Looking around the shop, I knew that I couldn't just sit there doing nothing while I waited to hear from Jace, so I decided to go home and work on the boards I had been working on as a gift for Mom and Luke for the wedding. I finished closing down the shop, left a note on the door explaining that I would be out for a few days and recorded the voicemail message to say the same. I hopped in the Jeep and headed home.

When I got home, I unlocked the shed, got the boards out and took them behind the shed to paint them. The boards were going to be counterparts of each other. The designs represented Mom and Luke's personalities and fed off of each other, meaning there were certain parts of the designs that matched, like their love for surfing. I turned the stereo on and got to work painting. After a few minutes, Isabelle texted me and told me she was coming over.

Instead of looking up when I heard someone come around the back of the shed because I thought it was Isabelle, I completely ignored the fact that someone was walking up to me, too engrossed in the designs I was painting. When I heard the voice that accompanied the person who had paid me a visit, I got the chills and my head snapped up to see the face I had hoped I would never see again.

"Jonathan," I whispered on a breath in response to his sinister smile. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't form words or move. As much as I hated to admit it, the man scared me and I had hoped I wouldn't have to deal with him again. After my accident and Jace kicked him out of the house, he had virtually disappeared from our lives. Jace still kept in touch with Jonathan's probation officer, so we knew he hadn't gone back to California, but he hadn't bothered us since that day.

"Hello, Clary," he said standing above me. I was crouched down so I could paint the boards, making him appear even taller than he usually did.

"What are you doing here, Jonathan?" I scrambled to my feet so I wouldn't appear so small.

"I went to the shop because I wanted a custom board, but the note said you wouldn't be in for a few days." He said matter-of-factly and I backed up a few steps to create some distance.

"So, you came to my house instead? I'm pretty sure we told you to stay away and to go back to California, but wait, you were never supposed to leave California in the first place, right?"

"Where's Jace, Clary?" He took a step toward me and I took another step back. A few more steps and I would be against the shed and trapped, so I needed to figure something out. Isabelle was on her way, so I knew I needed to call her so she would know what was going on. My phone was in the back pocket of my shorts, but I didn't know how to get to it without Jonathan seeing.

"He's at the grocery store." I lied hoping that Jonathan was completely oblivious to what was going on in our lives.

"Oh, really, because I thought he was in Costa Rica." _Shit. _Before I said anything else, I saw Isabelle walk up to the front door. Jonathan had his back to her, so he couldn't see her as she turned and saw us, registering what was happening. She immediately got her phone out so I knew she was calling for help. I continued to be silent while I watched for her to give me a sign or something. She held up her hand to let me know the cops would be there in five minutes. I just needed to stall Jonathan for five minutes and then everything would be fine. Isabelle silently asked me if I needed help and I gestured for her to move to the side of the shed.

"What do you really want, Jonathan?"

"Exactly what I told you I wanted the last time I saw you." I knew he was talking about me.

"And like I told you last time, it will never happen. We will never happen and I will never leave Jace."

"But he will probably leave you. Jace has never had a relationship longer than a few weeks. He's going to get bored and then you'll come running to me."

"If you really think that, you're not Jace's best friend. In fact, I'm pretty sure you were never his friend because a friend wouldn't do half the shit you've done to Jace. So, why don't you do us all a favor and go back to California and stay the hell out of our lives?"

He closed the distance between us and pressed me against the wall of the shed, dangling my feet off the ground.

"You don't know anything about my relationship with Jace. We have been through everything together and I was a better friend than you'll ever know."

"Oh, so a good friend drives drunk with his best friend in the passenger seat and then tries to steal his girlfriend?"

He put his hand over my mouth, obviously tired of listening to me talk. Before he could say anything else, I saw a group of police officers come up behind him.

"Jonathan Moregenstern, you are under arrest," one of the officers shouted and Jonathan dropped me, raising his hands above his head while he was read his rights. I ran around the side of the shed and Isabelle caught me in her arms. We watched as Jonathan was put into a car and taken away. I gave my statement before Isabelle led me inside the house.

Finally, everything that had happened in the past two hours got to me and the flood gates opened. Sitting on the couch, I dropped my head to my hands and sobs wracked my body. Isabelle sat down next to me and rubbed my back before she wrapped her arms around me, rocking me back and forth. She whispered words of encouragement, trying to tell me everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't get myself to stop crying. It was like every emotion that I had tried to hide for the past two months had finally caught up to me and I was powerless to stop it.

My phone started ringing on the table and Isabelle picked it up to see who was calling.

"Clary, it's Jace," she said handing me the phone. Hearing his name made me gather my composure as I swiped my finger across the screen to answer the phone.

"Hello," I said trying to hide the fact that I was just crying hysterically.

"Hey, pretty girl," Jace's voice came through the phone and I relaxed into the couch without being able to hold back the tears any longer. I cried into the phone without any more reservations. "Clary, what's wrong? Talk to me, baby."

"I'm sorry, I was just so worried about you and then something else happened that I don't want to worry you with right now, but everything is fine. I'm just so glad that I'm talking to you." I took a deep breath before asking the question I really needed to be answered. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"We can talk about that later. I'm fine, but what just happened with you? Don't worry about worrying me right now. I'll be more worried if you don't tell me." I could hear the worry in his voice and I immediately felt bad for worrying him while he was hurt in the hospital. I glanced at Isabelle, silently asking if I should tell him, to which she nodded and rubbed my back.

"Um," I took a deep breath. "Jonathan came to the house today, but I took care of it. Isabelle called the police for me and he was arrested."

"Oh my God, Clary. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He was freaking out and I couldn't help but smile, knowing how much he loved me.

"Yes, Jace, I'm fine. Every thing is okay and he won't be bothering us anymore." I heard him exhale and I could just see him throwing his head back against a pillow as his worry dissipated. "Can you please tell me what happened now?"

"It's not that big of a deal. I ran into some rocks and hit my head, but I don't have a concussion. I do have a broken leg, though."

"I'm sorry, honey. What happens from here?" Isabelle got up from the couch and went into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

"Well, I'm in a cast, so I won't be surfing for a while. I'm coming home."

"You're really coming home?" I closed my eyes as a tear escaped, this time a happy tear.

"Yeah, I'll be home in a few days." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I wished he were coming home with better circumstances, but I was going to see my guy in a few days. I had already started to plan what needed to be done before he got home. I needed to clean the house, since I had let it become a disaster while Jace was gone. Jace started rattling off his plans and told me he would let me know as soon as he knew when his flight was. I could tell he was getting tired and I knew he was probably full of painkillers, so I told him to go to sleep. "Okay, pretty girl. I want either Isabelle to stay at the house tonight or you to stay at her house. Either way, I don't want you alone until I get home."

"Jace, I love you, but I can take care of myself." I chuckled at his protectiveness.

"Please, just do this for me. I will feel a hundred times better if I knew you weren't alone right now." I couldn't believe him. He was the one lying in a hospital bed and he was still more worried about me. "Please."

"Okay, fine. I'll have Iz stay here with me." I heard him sigh in relief. "Can you please go to sleep now? I'm fine so stop worrying about me."

"Fine. I love you."

"I love you, too, Cali." I hung up the phone and Isabelle sat down next to me with a mug of tea.

"What's going on," she asked and I knew she was wondering what had happened and how badly he was hurt, but I could only focus on one thing.

"He's coming home."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I have no idea at the moment where I want this story to go. I have a few ideas, but I don't know the timeline I'm on. I write in a stream of consciousness type of way, so whatever comes to mind in the moment is what happens. As long as I continue to have ideas for more chapters, the story will continue! _

_So, let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	22. Chapter 22

There were too many people. I craned my head around the crowd that was making it's way to baggage claim as I tried to spot six feet of golden man coming my way. Seriously, where were all of these people coming from?

Then, I saw him. I spotted that golden hair and started running toward him. I wasn't thinking about the fact that he was on crutches or that he would be tired. All I cared about was being in Jace's arms again. I knew the moment he spotted me because his golden eyes lit up and his smile spread wide across his face. He started hobbling faster on his crutches and when we reached each other, I slammed my body into his, making him stagger backward. With my arms wrapped around his neck, I buried my face in his neck. It felt like hours before we pulled apart and said something.

"You're here," I said, still with some doubt in my voice. I couldn't believe he was standing in front of me after being apart for so long.

"Yeah," Jace said, smiling before he leaned down and kissed me. He kissed me like it was the first time and it felt like it was. I had waited so long for this moment and it was everything I had hoped for. "I missed you so much."

"I can't believe you're really here." I couldn't help running my hands all over him as I tried to convince myself that he was in fact standing in front of me. I glanced down at the black cast on his leg and was reminded of why he came home. "How was the flight? How's your leg? Are you in pain?"

"Whoa, take it easy." He put is hands on my shoulders. "I'm fine, I just want to get home."

I turned and placed my hand on Jace's back and stayed a step behind him as we made our way to baggage claim. We stopped in front of the carousel and I waited for Jace's bags. He pointed out the bags to me so I could get them and then we were on our way. I wheeled Jace's bags to the Jeep while staying a few steps behind him. When we got to the car, I tossed his bags in the back and he slid his crutches in as well before hopping to the passenger side and getting in the car.

When I had everything situated, I slid into the driver's seat and turned to face Jace. Before he could say anything, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine. This kiss was completely different than the one in the airport. That kiss was us reuniting after being apart for so long. Now, we were alone and I had to stop myself from climbing over the console and crawling into his lap.

"Wow," he whispered against my lips before kissing me softly one more time.

"Yeah," I smiled and pulled back to look into his eyes. "You have no idea how much I missed you." I settled back into my seat and started the car. Jace reached for my hand, immediately falling back into our old routine. It was like we were never apart. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know, yet." I ran my thumb along his knuckles and he lifted our hands to kiss the back of mine. "I haven't really had time to think about it. The past few days have been so crazy that I forget that I have a cast on my leg sometimes. I was busy worrying about you in the hospital and then all I could think about was getting home to you."

"How long do you have to have the cast on?"

"Eight weeks. I should be able to get a walking boot in a few weeks, though."

"Looks like I get to take care of you then." I smirked in his direction, referring to the time he had to take care of me after my accident.

We drove the rest of the way home in a comfortable silence. When I pulled into the driveway, I pulled Jace's crutches out of the back of the car and handed them to him then I grabbed his bags and followed him up the steps. When I opened the door, I heard Jace gasp. He was probably expecting the house to be a mess, but it was immaculately clean. I had a space set up for Jace on the couch where he could elevate his leg, which I led him to and made him sit down.

"Sit down and relax while I put your stuff away," I told him as I took his bags into the bedroom.

"Clary, I can do that," he shouted from the couch and I could hear him picking up his crutches to come into the bedroom. I rushed out to catch him standing from the couch.

"What do you think you're doing?" I put my hands on my hips in a defensive stance.

"I'm going to put my stuff away." He said matter-of-factly and started crutching toward the hall. I stopped him when he got to me and put my hand on his chest.

"I don't think so, Cali. It's payback time. You can go sit your ass back on that couch while I take care of everything."

"You can't be serious." He smirked that stupid smirk that always got me to give into him, but I wasn't having it. I stood my ground and moved to block him when he tried to go around me. "Come on, Clary. I can do things for myself. I have a broken leg; I'm not paralyzed."

"I don't care, just go sit down, please." I was done with trying to reason with him. He didn't reason with me when he made me stay in bed for a week for no reason and now I knew how he felt. "Please, I know that I was annoyed when you wouldn't let me get out of bed for a week, but I understand it now. I love you and I want you to let me take care of you."

"Okay." He pulled my head down to rest on his chest and kissed the top of my head. "Okay." Jace turned and made his way back to the couch and turned on the TV while I went back into the bedroom to unpack Jace's bags.

Jace only had two bags because incidentally, you don't need a lot of clothes for a surf trip. I refolded all of his clothes and put them in the dresser before hanging some of the clothes up. Once all of the clothes were put away, I reached into all of the pockets to make sure I hadn't missed anything. In the last pocket, I wrapped my hand around a small box. When I pulled it out, I froze. It was a ring box.

I simply held the box in front of my face, not knowing what to think. I finally got the courage to open the box and my suspicions were confirmed. Inside the box was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I dropped onto the bed and stared at the ring, not able to form any thoughts. After a few more minutes, I put the box back in the pocket I found it in and went out to the living room to sit with Jace.

Sitting down next to Jace, I curled into his side and thought endlessly about the ring I had just found. My mind was running rampant with thoughts about Jace purposing to me.

My mom was getting married in three weeks, which meant I had something to do related to the wedding almost every day. I would be lying if I hadn't thought of marrying Jace sometime way in the future, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. What was I even thinking about? I found a ring. That didn't mean that we were going to get married tomorrow.

Jace put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head as I snuggled closer to him. As I listened to his heartbeat, I found myself dozing off. Jace's arm tightened around me and I let myself drift off. I dreamed of a golden boy getting down on one knee and making me his forever.

o.O.0.O.o

"Jace Lightwood, if you don't sit your ass down on that couch right now, you can forget about ever seeing me naked again," I shouted at Jace who was trying to sneak out of the house and into the shed to work on boards. He had been home for three days and had tried to work in the shed like a million times. I understood that he wanted to be doing what he loved, but I wanted him to wait until he was in a walking boot and didn't have to use crutches to hold him up while he was shaping boards.

Jace froze halfway down the steps and turned awkwardly to face me. "Oh, hey honey," he said with that smirk, trying to look innocent. "I was just going to make sure everything is looking okay in the shed."

"Oh, really?" He nodded. "I have been making sure the racks are organized and the shed is clean every day for the past two months, I think I can handle it for the next few weeks."

"And you've been doing a great job running the shop and designing the boards, but I need to get in there."

"Jace, you're not shaping boards until you can stand up with the help of crutches. You'll be in a walking boot in a couple of weeks and then everything will be back to normal."

"Come on, Clary." He hobbled up the steps and looked down into my eyes. I could see the desperation in his eyes. I knew he needed to shape boards. I knew it relaxed him, but I couldn't understand how he would do it if he couldn't stand without using his crutches. "I need this. I'm going crazy in that house. I understand, now, why you were so annoyed with me."

"I know, but I don't think you should be shaping boards right now." I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Why don't we go to the shop and get you out of the house."

"Really?" His eyes lit up at the mention of the shop. I had been going in for a few hours every day while Jace sat at home and I knew that it was driving him crazy. He dropped his crutches and wrapped his arms around me. I couldn't help but laugh at how happy he was to be getting out of the house. "You're my favorite person."

"That's good because you're kind of my favorite person too." I picked up his crutches and handed them to him so he could crutch to the car.

When we got to the shop, Jace would have skipped inside if he weren't on crutches. His face lit up when he saw the familiar racks of boards that lined the walls. He stopped in front of the new display I had made. The display was in support of Jace's new surfing career. It had a framed copy of the cover of a magazine that he was featured on and a picture of us after he placed to get on the team. We were holding his new board that I made him in front of us. I was facing and smiling at the camera while Jace was kissing my temple. It was one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.

"Wow," he said as he examined the display. "You did this for me?"

"Well, yeah," I said as I wrapped my arm around his waist. "I'm proud of you, Cali and I wanted everyone who walked in the shop to know it."

"You are so perfect." He turned his head and leaned down to kiss me. "You're still proud of me, even though I'm not on tour anymore?"

"Are you kidding?" I pushed back and gave him a quizzical look. "I am so incredibly proud of you, Jace. You went on tour and you got hurt, but you were following your dreams. I would still be proud of you even if you hadn't made the team because I love you and it is impossible for me not to be proud of you."

"I'm going to marry you one day." He said matter-of-factly and pulled me against his chest. I tensed, remembering the ring I found in his suitcase and nodded in agreement. I leaned my head back to look into his beautiful golden eyes and all of my fears melted away. I didn't care that we had only been together for a few months or that I was still young. All that mattered was Jace and I spending our lives together.

"Okay."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I'm sorry that it's been a few days but I was ridiculously sick yesterday and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't write anything. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	23. Chapter 23

This was weird, but a good weird. I was standing in front of a full-length mirror next to my mom who was wearing her wedding dress. My mom was getting married. I was trying to hold back my tears so I didn't ruin the makeup Isabelle spent hours doing for us.

Mom looked beautiful. Her dress hung on her frame like it was made specifically for her. Her hair was pinned up with a few tendrils left down to frame her face. She was wearing a lei instead of carrying a bouquet. We had been standing there for a good five minutes, not talking, just staring at the people we didn't recognize in the mirror. I couldn't remember the last time either of us dressed up for anything. The dressiest thing I owned was a sundress. I didn't even own a pair of high heels, but here we were standing in beautiful dresses, waiting for Isabelle to come tell us it was time. Luckily, Mom and Luke were getting married on the beach, so everyone would be barefoot. We were both most comfortable when barefoot.

I was wearing a beautiful dress that hit the ground. It was a sea foam green color and brought out my eyes. It was perfect for me.

I finally turned to face my mom and took her hands in mine. "You look beautiful, Mom," I said choking back tears. I really needed to pull myself together. "I hope you know how happy I am for you and Luke."

"I know, honey," she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "I'm getting married." She sounded like she couldn't believe it and I honestly couldn't either. No one in the world deserved this more than my mother, but it was weird to see her with a man after twenty-two years of it just being the two of us.

"You're getting married." We started laughing and the tears finally escaped. We scrambled to fix the mess we had made before Isabelle found us and scolded us. Just as we were finishing fixing our faces, Isabelle came in the room and told us it was time to go.

We had gotten ready at my mom's house because she was getting married on the beach and there really wasn't anywhere else to get ready. I had spent the night with Mom and Isabelle the night before, after we went to the bar for a last hurrah, so I hadn't seen Jace in almost twenty-four hours. I felt ridiculous for missing him because we had been apart for far longer, but he made me happy and I wasn't ashamed of it.

Jace had been in a walking boot for about a week and he had been so much happier with the freedom of mobility. He still couldn't stand for long periods of time, but it was long enough that he could work on a board for a while before needing to take a break. After he said he wanted to marry me the first day he went back to the shop, we hadn't discussed it any further. I was content with the fact that it would happen one day. I had an informal proposal from Jace and evidence of a ring. It was going to happen and we just needed to get the timing right.

My mom, Isabelle and I climbed into the car that would take us to the beach where everyone was waiting for us. When we pulled up to the beach, we got out of the car and went behind the wall so no one could see us. I peeked around and saw Jace and Alec sitting in the front row with a seat open next to them for Isabelle. Luke was standing up at the front in his casual attire that he had agreed upon with Mom. He wore long khaki pants and a white linen button-up shirt with a lei around his neck. He looked nervous and I let out a giggle before turning back to Mom and Isabelle.

"How does everything look," Mom asked wringing her hands together. I took her hands and held them between us. I was going to be giving my mom away to Luke today since her father had passed away years ago and we only had each other. If anyone were to give her away, it was going to be me. I had been honored when she asked me, even more so than when she asked me to be her maid of honor.

"Everything looks amazing, Mom," I assured her. "Isabelle did an amazing job." Isabelle had really taken charge with the wedding planning. She basically told us what to do and we did it. This wedding was her baby and she was seriously considering starting an event coordinator business, since there was no shortage of weddings and events on the island.

I heard the ukulele start to play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and knew that it was time. Isabelle hugged us both and went to take her seat. I hugged my mother one last time and linked my arm with hers so I could walk her down the aisle and give her away.

We made our way to the makeshift aisle in the sand and began walking down it. I smiled at the guests as we passed, but then I saw Luke's face and realized just how much he loved my mom. They couldn't tear their eyes away from each other. When we got to the end of the aisle, I winked at Jace and his eyes lit up. The minister asked who was giving Mom away and I responded, giving Luke her hand and kissing her on the cheek before hugging Luke. I took my place next to Mom and the ceremony began.

I knew I should have been paying attention because it was a big day for my mom, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of Jace. We both had permanent smiles on our faces and we kept mouthing things like "I love you" and "You look hot" to each other. I loved when Jace was happy and playful like that. I finally broke eye contact with Jace when the rings were exchanged and Mom and Luke were pronounced husband and wife. I applauded with the rest of the audience and hugged them both before they walked back up the aisle with me following behind.

Mom and Luke hopped in Luke's car and headed to the restaurant where the reception was being held. I waited in the parking lot for Isabelle, Alec and Jace because we were all riding over to the restaurant together. When I finally spotted my golden boy, I may have jumped up and down like a small schoolgirl.

I skipped to Jace and threw myself in his arms as he caught me around the waist and held me to his chest. Before we could say anything, our lips were on each other. I cradled his head in my hands and ran my fingers through his hair.

"You clean up nice," I whispered in his ear before he let me slide back down to the ground. Jace was wearing clothes similar to what Luke was wearing, but he was dressed in a green shirt that complimented the dress I was wearing. We hadn't planned this.

"You don't look so bad yourself, pretty girl," he smirked as his eyes roamed over my body. I loved when he called me that. It was like he was always trying to make me believe that I was beautiful and when he said it, I believed him. He pressed his lips to my forehead.

"How's the leg feeling?" I looked down at the boot covering his leg and willed him to give me an honest answer. Even if his foot were hurting him, Jace would always tell me that he was fine, but I could read him and know what he was really feeling.

"You need to stop worrying about it, Clary. I'm fine and if I'm not I'll tell you." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, fine. I probably won't tell you, but I'm being honest right now when I say that I'm fine."

"Okay." I reached up to kiss him lightly, which turned into Jace grabbing my waist and pulling me against him to deepen the kiss.

"Ugh, could you two please get a room," Isabelle huffed causing us to pull apart abruptly and I turned to face her as Jace pulled y back to his chest. I was sure my cheeks were a deep shade of red. I covered my face with my hand and Jace squeezed my side playfully.

"Don't be jealous just because you don't have a smoking hot boyfriend like me, Iz," Jace said behind me and I turned to smack him in the chest.

"Can we just go to the reception now," I pleaded. Everyone around me laughed as we made our way to Alec's car.

Jace and I slid into the backseat and kept contact with each other the entire ten-minute drive. Apparently one night apart was too much for us.

When we walked into the restaurant, I was blown away once again. Isabelle had turned my family's dinky old restaurant into a beautiful reception area for Mom and Luke. The head table ran along the back wall and the rest of the tables were situated as normal throughout the restaurant and the center of the room was cleared to make a dance floor. The decorations were beautiful. Everything was white and had green accents to match my dress. The boards that I made for Mom and Luke were displayed near the head table and a surge of pride rushed through me. They didn't know the boards were going to be there and I couldn't wait to see what they thought about them. Jace and I walked up to Mom and Luke, who were already sitting down at their table.

"Hi, honey," Mom gushed as we came into view and stood up from the table to wrap her arms around us. "Those boards are beautiful."

"I'm glad you like them," I responded as Jace doled out congratulations and shook Luke's hand. When we were finished talking, we made our way to a table on the wall where Isabelle and Alec were already sitting.

The normal reception traditions flew by and before I knew it, it was time to give my speech. I had been extremely nervous and had practiced so many times in front of Jace, he could recite the speech word for word.

"Hi everyone," I said into the microphone. "I'm Clary and the bride is my mother, if you couldn't tell." I at least got a chuckle from the guests because Mom and I looked so much alike. "For twenty-two years, it was just me, my mom and the water. Mom put me on a board the second I could stand on my own two feet and we bonded through a love of the ocean. For twenty-two years, it was me and my mom against the world. We didn't have a man and we didn't need a man and that never seemed weird to me. Then, one day, I walked into my mom's house and walked into a sticky situation." I could see Mom's cheeks turn red at the mention of me catching her and Luke making out in the kitchen. "Luke fit into our little family immediately and I could just see the love they had for one another. They shared a love of the ocean and surfing and I knew they were perfect for each other. Luke came into our lives when I least expected it, but I have never seen my mom happier than she is today and for that, I thank you, Luke. Welcome to the family."

I raised my glass and the guests followed before a round of applause. When I sat back down in my seat, I let out a sigh of relief as Jace wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his side kissing the top of my head. The DJ started playing music and invited everyone onto the dance floor.

We all sat around our table for another hour, enjoying each other's company and having a good time. Finally, Jace took my hand under the table and stood up.

"May I have this dance," he asked as he held my hand waiting for me to give him permission to drag me onto the dance floor. I nodded my head with a small smile and stood from my chair following him onto the dance floor. When Jace was satisfied with a spot, he turned and pulled me to him. I rested my head on his chest and swayed to the beat of the music in Jace's arms.

"Jace, you shouldn't be standing for long periods of time," I said taking my head off of his chest after the first song was finished.

"I can move just fine, pretty girl, so just let me dance with my girlfriend right now." He pulled my head back down to his chest and I was forced to concede. "I love you." He mumbled into my hair and I smiled.

"I love you, too." I looked up into his beautiful golden eyes before his lips descended onto mine. The kiss was short and sweet, but it said everything it needed to. It didn't matter what the tempo of the song that was playing was. We just stayed like that swaying to our own music for the rest of the night, perfectly content in each other's arms.

When we finally made it home after midnight, I was exhausted and could barely change out of my dress before falling into bed. I changed into a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top before washing the makeup off of my face and taking my hair out of the pins that were holding it up. I stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched as Jace sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boot so he could sleep. His leg was noticeably thinner than the other one, but I knew he would be back to normal in no time.

I was just glad that he could shape boards again because Jace not being able to surf was killing him. When I went out on the water every morning, I knew there was something missing. Jace and I hadn't surfed together in months and I couldn't wait to get in the water with him again.

Walking into the bedroom, I stopped in front of Jace and stood between his legs. His hands gripped my waist and I ran my hands through his hair. He tilted his head back so I could see his eyes that were so expressive and beautiful. I kissed the tip of his nose, like he did to me all the time.

"It was a great wedding," Jace said breaking the silence.

"It was, wasn't it," I replied with a nod. Jace smiled and pulled me down onto the bed, pulling my back against his chest. I held his hands that snaked in front of me. Jace rested his chin on my shoulder and I turned my head back to kiss him. "I love you a lot, Jace Lightwood."

"I think, I love you more, Clarissa Fray." He kissed my neck and I giggled. Just as I was letting the exhaustion of the day take over, I heard Jace whisper, "Marry me."

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_Thank you so much for reading! I'm pretty excited about the next chapter so hopefully it will be ready tomorrow! Please feel free to let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	24. Chapter 24

_Jace_

Did I really just propose to Clary? I don't know what happened. I had this whole thing planned out where I took her to one of our favorite spots and got down on one knee to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. Jocelyn and Luke's wedding was beautiful and the entire time I was watching Clary at the ceremony, I was thinking about her and I being up there pledging our lives to each other.

So, as I lie in bed with the love of my life, I couldn't help but whisper, "Marry me," in her ear. For a few seconds, I thought she was asleep because she made no move to speak. I began to relax thinking that my plan wasn't ruined and tried to fall asleep when a mass of red hair whipped me in the face as Clary turned over to face me.

"What did you just say," she asked with a whisper. The way I saw it, I could either ignore it or run with it. I wasn't completely sure which route I wanted to go yet.

"I didn't say anything." Apparently I was going to be a little bitch and take the coward's way out. Clary eyed me skeptically and cupped my cheek in her hand.

"Are you sure?" She got a hopeful gleam in her eye that I didn't want to go away. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"No, I said marry me." Her eyes lit up and my heart soared. "But this wasn't the way I wanted to do it. I had everything planned out and you deserve so much better than me asking you to marry me in bed."

She closed the distance between us and kissed me, hard. "Shut up." Another kiss as she rolled us so she was lying on top of me. "I don't care how you propose. All I care about is that you do."

"But I don't even have a ring." I was lying through my teeth. I had had a ring for months that I was hiding in my dresser, but I at least wanted to do what I had planned for the proposal to give her the ring. Her face contorted like she was confused, but she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Wait. Let me start over." I sat up and brought her with me. I got on my knees and she followed my motions as I took both of her hands in mine. "Clarissa Fray, I love you so much. You have taught me so much about life and love. You've made all of my dreams come true, but there's one more you can help me with. You can make the rest of my life a dream if you become my wife and spend your life with me, surfing, designing boards and having my children. Clarissa Fray, my pretty girl, will you marry me?"

I wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes and cupped her cheek. She began nodding enthusiastically, giving me her answer, but I want to hear the words. I raised an eyebrow in question at her.

"Yes, you idiot! Yes, I'll marry you!" She was laughing through her tears as she threw herself into my arms. A shot of pain ran through my leg, but I was too damn happy to care. The love of my life just agreed to be my wife. We stayed wrapped up in each other for a long while after that until the exhaustion finally took Clary under.

I began thinking about giving the ring to Clary and realized my plans would have to change because of my leg. This stupid thing was really getting on my nerves. I missed surfing with Clary every morning and I missed being able to carry her around because she was so tiny and I loved having her in my arms. The boot would be coming off in three weeks and then I could start getting back to normal. I really needed my leg to be back to normal. There were so many things I wanted to do that involved having full use of my leg. I wanted to teach my kids how to surf and take them to Black Rock, but I couldn't do those things if my leg was screwed up.

I could think about all of that tomorrow, though because in that moment all that mattered was that I had Clary in my arms and she was soon going to be Clary Lightwood.

o.O.0.O.o

"Wake up, pretty girl," I whispered against Clary's cheek as I kissed all over her face. "Clary, wake up." She moaned and rolled over, almost elbowing me in the face. Her eyes fluttered open and her face lit up with her smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Cali," she said through a yawn and I leaned down to kiss her lips. Before either one of us could get carried away, I pulled back and hopped out of bed. "Where did you go?"

"Come on, I have somewhere I want to take you." I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of bed. "Get dressed. Let's go."

"Sometimes, you're really annoying." She mumbled as she rolled out of bed reluctantly.

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing you love me." I kissed her cheek, leaving her to get dressed while I went out to the living room.

I sat on the couch and pulled the ring box out of my pocket. My plan had to be altered somewhat because what I had planned was going to happen after my leg was better and I could move, but I think my new plan was just as good. I took the ring out of the box and stuck the ring back in my pocket before Clary could see it and stood as she came into the living room. She grabbed her keys off of the counter and walked toward me.

"Where are we going," she asked and I held out my hand for the keys.

"I want to drive," I said, not ready to take no for an answer.

"How do you suppose you're going to press the clutch with that boot you have on?" _Shit_. She had a point and I hadn't even thought of it. I adapted to the situation.

"Fine, but I'm not telling you where we're going. You just have to follow my instructions and live with it." I knew this was going to be difficult, especially when she saw me take my boot off, but it had to be done and this was the only way I wanted to do it.

Before she woke up that morning, I had put the long board in the Jeep, along with my crutches. She was so used to seeing a board in the back of her car that she didn't even question the fact that the long board was in the back and not her purple board, which she used almost every day.

Clary followed my directions without complaint and we ended up in the parking lot at Break Wall. Once we parked, she looked over at me with the most confused look on her face. I just gave her my signature smirk and hopped out of the car and went around the back to take my boot off.

"What the hell do you think you're doing," Clary asked worriedly as she came around the back of the car.

"Don't worry, I brought my crutches," I said like it was no big deal, when in fact, it was a pretty big deal. It might be one of the stupidest things I had ever done, but I couldn't wait anymore. I wanted to get back in the water and this was the perfect time to do it. "Can you grab the board?" She just stood there, trying to get me to answer her silent questions, but they would be answered in time. "Please."

She huffed and pulled the board out, raising an eyebrow when she realized it was the long board. "I don't like this, Jace." I nodded and crutched down to the beach. When I got to the sand, it became infinitely more difficult to use my crutches, but I was determined. I dropped the crutches in the sand and balanced on one foot until Clary stopped by my side. "I hope you realize that I'm not surfing with you."

"I know, it's not about that. I just want to be in the water, but you're going to have to do most of the work and we can't paddle out on our knees." The waves were small, which helped my case tremendously. There was no way she would let me even paddle out if the waves were any bigger. She gave in when I smirked at her and I knew that she wanted this just as much as I did. She missed having me out there with her.

Clary put the board in the water and climbed on before I hopped over and got on behind her, bending my injured leg so it didn't rest on the board. It took as a little longer to paddle out than normal, but once we were out in the lineup I used my arms to push myself up and sit up on the board. Having my leg in the water felt magical. Clary's shins were resting on my thighs as she continued to lie down on the board. She had her head resting on her crossed arms.

That was when I moved to take the ring out of my pocket. It was no longer in the box, but I had tied it to one of the laces on my shorts so I wouldn't lose it. I tapped Clary on her thigh to get her attention.

"Can you sit up and turn around, please," I asked and she nodded, sitting up and turning around so she was facing me, her legs crossed in front of her. Instead of saying anything, I held out the ring to her and her eyes widened. "I lied last night when I said I didn't have a ring. I've actually had this ring for months, but I needed to give it to you in the right way. I had originally planned to propose to you on Black Rock, but with my leg, it didn't seem like it would work. Then I thought about us and what this place means to us. This is where I kissed you for the first time and this is where I fell in love with you and this is where I want to start our lives together." Tears were falling down her cheeks and I reached up to wipe them away. "You already said yes, so you can't take it back, but I'll ask you again so I can put my ring on your finger and make it official. Will you marry me?"

"You seriously need to stop asking that because the answer is never going to change," Clary said with her evil little smile before nodding. "But, I'll say it again and as many times as you want to hear it." She looked down at the ring and smiled. "Yes, Jace Lightwood. I will marry you."

I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to me so I could kiss her. Her hands rested on my shoulders and I pulled away to rest my forehead against hers. "I love you," I whispered as I took her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She pulled away to analyze the ring and her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"This ring is perfect." She held her hand out so she could see the sunlight reflect off of the stones. It was perfect for her. The diamonds weren't too big and the design was simple, but when I saw it, I knew it was the ring for my girl. "You're perfect."

She kissed me again before a shot of pain went through my leg. I knew I was going to be paying for this later, but the look in Clary's eye and the backdrop of the ocean washed it all away. She was the love of my life and I couldn't believe she was going to be mine forever.

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:)


	25. Chapter 25

My knee wouldn't stop bouncing up and down and I couldn't stop biting my nails. Jace put his hand on my knee and took my hand away from my mouth. I tried to smile at him, but I was too nervous. Jace was supposed to get his boot off and the doctor would evaluate his leg and tell us what the long-term repercussions of the injury were.

I didn't want to be nervous, I wanted to look like I had everything under control, but I just really wanted everything to be okay. Jace didn't know that I could tell he had been in pain more than usual. His whole proposal was a stupid idea, not that I was complaining, but I knew he was in a lot of pain after that day.

"Hey, calm down," Jace said from the seat next to me. "Everything is going to be fine."

"I know," I said a little too quickly. "I'm not nervous. Why would think that I'm nervous?"

"Maybe because you have chewed your nails down to nothing and you haven't been able to sit still the entire time we've been here."

"I'm sorry." I looked down at my lap and took a deep breath. "I just want you to be okay. What if the doctor says you won't be able to have a professional career?"

"I'll be fine, Clary." He cupped my cheek and ran his thumb along my cheekbone. "I got to go on tour for a short time and I got to live my dream. To be honest, none of it matters because we were apart for so long. I realized that you were my dream and I don't need to be a professional surfer. We have the shop and each other and that's all I need."

"How do you always know the right thing to say?" He smirked and dipped his head to kiss me. The door opened and Jace was called back. He took my hand and pulled me along with him.

I followed Jace into the exam room and sat down in the chair in the corner while Jace sat down on the table. Without Jace to distract me, I went back to chewing on my nails until the doctor walked in.

"How is the leg feeling, Jace," Dr. Carstairs asked as he was reading Jace's chart and sat down at the desk.

"It feels alright," Jace replied and shrugged. "It stills cause some pain every now and then, but other than that, I'm just ready to get out of this boot."

"Well, I hope I can give you good news today." The doctor went back to reading the chart and writing things down before saying anything further. "Okay, let's go take some X-rays and then we'll be able to further examine the situation."

Jace followed the doctor out of the room while I was left sitting in the room. I had to tell myself that everything was going to be okay. Jace was strong and if there was something wrong, we would get through it. I looked down at the ring on my finger and smiled, just like every time I looked at it. The day Jace asked me to marry him was the best day of my life. I knew I shouldn't have let him go out on the water, but the look in his eyes convinced me to just let him do what he was going to do and I was glad I did.

Jace and the doctor finally came back in the room about twenty minutes later and I perked up to listen to what the doctor had to say. I moved to stand next to Jace and he took my hand in his running his thumb along my knuckles.

"Okay," Dr. Carstairs began as he put the X-rays on the lights to look at them. "Well, the bone has healed nicely, but I'm seeing a lot of scar tissue built up around the break. It shouldn't be a problem, but you're going to need surgery eventually to remove the scar tissue."

I squeezed Jace's hand before asking the important question. "He can still surf, right," I asked hoping I wasn't going to get a terrible answer.

"Yes, but you'll need to go through physical therapy to get your skill level back to normal."

"See, pretty girl," Jace said as he raised his head to face me. "I told you everything would be okay."

"However, I think you should have the surgery sooner rather than later, which means your professional career will be on hold." He glanced back at Jace's chart and X-rays. "Other than that, you're good to go. Take the boot off and make sure you take it easy for a few days. Don't go straight back into everything you used to do."

Jace shook the doctors hand and I did as well before we walked out of the doctor's office, sans boot. When we got to the Jeep, Jace held out his hand for the keys and I couldn't deny him. He had been waiting six weeks to drive and I wasn't going to tell him he couldn't. Jace had the dopiest grin on his face and he looked so happy. All I could think about was the fact that the doctor had said Jace wasn't going to be pro for a while, if ever.

"Talk to me, Cali," I said as I grabbed his hand in both of mine. "What's going on in that mind of yours?"

"I'm fine," he said like he had been saying every time I asked him how he was feeling for the past six weeks. "Really, honestly, it sucks that I might not be pro again, but like I said, I'll get over it. I have so much more in my life to look forward to."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you. I hope you know that and I will always be proud of you, no matter what you do."

"Thanks, pretty girl. I love you."

"Hey, I love you, too. We should get married." Jace chuckled and brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed my ring. He liked having his ring on my finger. I started thinking about the wedding. We had been engaged for three and a half weeks and Isabelle was going to plan our wedding. After Mom's wedding, she quit her job at the hotel and started her own event planning business and she was doing great. She had already booked a few weddings and some other events. Jace and I had yet to set a date and we were going out that night to celebrate with Isabelle and Alec since we had all been busy until then. I knew Isabelle was going to want a date, but we were taking our time. We didn't need to be married right away because we basically were married anyway. We lived together, worked together, ate together and surfed together.

I noticed that Jace wasn't driving toward our house or the shop and I leaned forward to see where we were going. After a few seconds, I knew exactly where we were.

"Jace, why are we going to Black Rock," I asked hoping he would prove my suspicions wrong.

"I want to jump," he said matter-of-factly.

"Are you insane?" I let go of his hand and turned to face him while he drove. "You do realize that you just got your boot off and were told you're going to need surgery eventually, right? Do you want to ruin your leg forever? What happened to you wanting to be able to play with our kids and teach them how to surf?"

"Calm down, I'm going to be fine." He pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. I sat there with my arms crossed over my chest in defiance. I wasn't going to support this. It was bad enough I let him out in the water when he had his boot on and I wouldn't stand by and watch him ruin his future. "You're not going to come?"

"No and you shouldn't either." I pleaded to him through the open window on my side. "Please, don't do this. You heard the doctor. You're supposed to ease back into things and this is going full throttle without a care in the world."

"Well, I never was one to listen to authority." He shrugged and leaned his head through the window. "Please, come with me."

"I'm sorry, this is one thing I can't do with you. If you go jump off of that cliff, I won't stand by and watch you do it."

He leaned further into the window and tried to kiss me, but I turned my head so he caught my cheek. He pulled away and whispered, "I'm sorry," before turning and walking away. I sat in my seat frozen, not believing what had just happened.

I hopped out of the car and slammed the door. I wouldn't leave Jace without a car. As mad as I was, I knew he wouldn't be able to walk home on his leg, so I started walking. We didn't live too far, so it only took me about ten minutes to get home.

When I walked through the door, I slammed it shut, my temper still not cooled, and flopped onto the couch. I sent Alec a text explaining what was going on and pleading with him to go to Black Rock and convince Jace not to jump. Alec's shack was just down the beach and I hoped he would get there in time or at least make him see reason. Alec told me he would try everything he could.

My next step was to call Isabelle and vent to her about how stupid Jace was being. We came to the conclusion that Jace wasn't as okay with his professional career being over as he said he was. I didn't care what his reasons were, he was being stupid and I couldn't wait to tell him that.

After thirty minutes of sitting on the couch and waiting for Jace to get home, I decided I couldn't just sit there, so I got up and started making spam fried rice, my ultimate comfort food. When I finished with the rice, I had been home for almost two hours and Jace still wasn't home. I cut up a mango and sat down to eat just as the front door swung open and Jace was pushed inside with Alec behind him. Alec tossed my keys on the table and came inside, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He plopped down on the couch and took a long swig as Jace and I had a major stare down.

"Alec, thank you for bringing him home, but it you don't want to see me rip Jace's head off, I suggest you leave," I said in the calmest voice I could muster. Alec nodded and walked out the door, taking his beer with him. As soon as the door closed, I went off. "Are you out of your freaking mind?" Jace sighed and moved to the couch. I stayed standing because I wanted to feel taller than him for once as I reprimanded him. "I have been worried sick for hours thinking that you hurt your leg or worse and you just had to jump off the damn cliff. Was it worth it, Jace? Do you feel better now that you've done something so stupid? Do you feel better now that you've scared me half to death? I never want to get another call saying you're hurt. Do you hear me? That was one of the worst moments of my life because you were twelve hours away and I couldn't help you. I couldn't get to you, Jace. I know that what we do is dangerous and we're going to get hurt, but I sure as hell don't go looking to get hurt and that's exactly what you did today." I huffed out a breath as I finished my rant and Jace leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, not looking at me.

"I didn't jump," he whispered almost quiet enough that I couldn't hear him.

"What was that?" I took a step closer to the couch, but remained standing.

"I didn't jump. You were right. I got to the top and I was looking down at the water and I just couldn't do it. My leg was throbbing from the climb and I knew it was just going to hurt worse when I hit the water, so I turned around and climbed back down. When I got up to the beach, Alec was running toward me, yelling that you were pissed, so he took me to the bar and we had a few beers. I'm so sorry, Clary."

Jace lowered his head to his hands and I finally sat down next to him, rubbing soothing circles on his back. He took deep breaths and I stayed quiet as he worked out his issues in his head.

"Honey, you need to talk to me," I whispered as I rested my head on his shoulder. "What was this all about?"

"I didn't think it would matter." He lifted his head and turned to face me. I continued to run my hand up and down his spine while my other hand held his. "I kept telling myself that it would be okay if I couldn't be pro anymore. I kept telling myself that two months was enough, but that was before it was being decided for me. I decided a long time ago that I probably wasn't going to be pro anymore and I was okay with that because it was my decision. As soon as the doctor said it wasn't an option, I cared again."

"Why didn't you just tell me that? I completely understand. I went through the same thing after my injury. I had to make it my decision not to go back because having someone else decide it for me sucked." He nodded and I ran my hand through his hair. "Why did you want to jump off of Black Rock?"

"I wanted to do something that I used to be able to do without thinking about it. It was stupid and I know that now."

"I promise that we will get you back to normal. You will jump off of Black Rock and you will surf, but you need to talk to me and not do anything stupid." He chuckled and nodded before I kissed him lightly on the lips. He looked at the table and noticed the food I was going to eat.

"Is that a mango?" I rolled my eyes as he went to pick it up off the table. "I knew you liked them, too. They're delicious."

"You're so weird." Jace leaned back into the couch before throwing an arm around my shoulder and I curled into his side. He alternated between taking a bite of the mango and giving me a bite.

"Yeah, but I'm your weird and you're so lucky."

"That could be debated." Jace squeezed my side and I yelped. "I'm just kidding. I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you are continuing to enjoy the story. I have no idea how many more chapters I have in me for this fic, but I don't even want to think about ending it right now because I love it so much. Please let me know what you think and leave me a review! :)_


	26. Chapter 26

Planning a wedding was exhausting when Isabelle was your wedding planner. I was about three seconds away from taking Jace to the courthouse and just getting it over with, but I sat at on my couch surrounded by bridal magazines and a laptop with Pinterest open as Isabelle tried to make me choose flower arrangements.

I tried to be interested, I really did, but none of this would make me marrying Jace any more special. I just wanted to stand on a beach somewhere with my friends and family watching Jace and I commit to each other forever.

Jace and I were getting married in six months and had been engaged for about a month and a half. Our wedding was going to be exactly one year from the day we met and the ceremony was going to be held at the beach where Jace dropped in on me. The only thing I really cared about the wedding was that after the ceremony, we would have a sunset surf session where we ride a wave together and Jace jumps onto my board, symbolizing us becoming one.

"Clary, you need to choose your colors," Isabelle said as she pointed to something in one of the magazines.

"Iz, I love you and I appreciate everything you're doing for us, but I could really care less about the colors or the flowers," I said throwing my hands up in exasperation and regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. "I'm sorry, Iz, I'm just not into all of this girly stuff."

"Okay, I'll tell you what, I will take care of the flowers and everything else because I think I know you better than anyone and I can make this into a beautiful wedding suited to you and Jace, but you have to give an opinion on the colors and the dress." I thought about it for a second. I guess I could pick a color and I would suffer through trying on wedding dresses.

"Fine, but please remember that I am not you and I like simple and understated." She squealed and clapped her hands before throwing her arms around me.

"So, just give me a color you like and I can work around it." I nodded and actually started looking through the magazines and boards on Pinterest. I saw a wedding where the bridesmaids wore light gray dresses and the groomsmen wore gray pants and white shirts with a grey vest and dark purple ties. It was perfect.

"I like this color combination." I pointed to the pictures and she smiled brightly.

"It's perfect." As Isabelle went to work flagging pages in the magazines and making a special board on Pinterest for my wedding, I got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen to make us something to eat.

Jace and Alec would be back soon from whatever they were doing. They were either getting a beer or resurfacing the floors in Alec's shack or something to that effect. I decided to make us all dinner and we could just hang out at the house for the night. After Jace broke his leg, I decided to stop working at the bar because I was too busy with the shop and taking care of Jace. We still went to the bar a couple times a week out of habit, but I really just wanted to stay home and relax tonight.

Every few minutes, I would hear Isabelle shout something about the wedding and I grumbled a response to keep her happy. Jace and Alec walked in the front door and Jace came into the kitchen while Alec sat on the couch next to Isabelle. He would regret that decision immediately if he didn't want to talk about the wedding.

"Hey, pretty girl," Jace whispered in my ear as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "How goes the wedding planning?"

"I wouldn't know," I shrugged my shoulders and Jace turned me to face him, effectively trapping me between him and the counter with his arms caging me in. He raised his eyebrows in question. "I was told I didn't have to worry about anything but the dress and picking a color."

"I can't believe you got out of planning our wedding." He put his hand over his heart and feigned disappointment. "You would rather let my cousin plan the most important day of our lives with no input than suffer through countless appointments and meetings? How dare you."

He tried to hide his smile, but I just smacked him on the chest and he kissed my forehead. "All I care about is the dress and our surf session. Everything else is just meaningless details and I trust Isabelle to give us the simple wedding we want."

"Sounds good to me." Jace kissed the tip of my nose before pulling me into his arms. "What are we doing tonight?"

"I figured we could just hang out here. I have dinner started and Isabelle and Alec are here so we can just watch a movie or something." I turned back to the stove where I was making honey sesame chicken with coconut rice. Jace grabbed two beers from the fridge and went back into the living room.

Once dinner was ready, I plated it and carried the plates to the living room with my amazing waitress skills, honed from a lifetime of helping out in the restaurant. Who says those skills don't come in handy? I sat down on the floor and scooted close to the table.

"Okay, I think we need to establish something," Isabelle declared as she pushed her plate away from herself.

"What do we need to establish, oh wise one," Jace asked in the most sarcastic tone he could muster and I couldn't help but laugh as he motioned for me to join him on the couch. When I was in reaching distance, Jace pulled me down onto his lap. I squealed and Isabelle rolled her eyes. Before she could say what she wanted to say, Alec stood from his chair.

"Before you get too far into this discussion, I'm leaving," he said with a wave as he gathered his belongings.

"Where are you going," I asked sitting up a little straighter.

"I think Alec has a date," Jace inquired and Isabelle and I snapped our heads to face Alec.

"I don't have a date," Alec said defensively. "I'm just meeting a friend for some beers."

"And we're not your friends, drinking beers?" Jace looked a little hurt and I leaned my head back against his chest.

"That's not it, Jace." Alec shook his head before turning away. "I just have to go. I'll see you later." With that, he was out the door, leaving us all utterly confused.

"What the hell was that all about," Jace asked to no one in particular. "Why wouldn't he tell us where he was going?"

"I don't know," Isabelle said as she looked down at her lap. "He's been acting so weird lately. He doesn't tell me anything and I'm starting to get worried."

"I'll talk to him." Jace ran his hands up and down my arms as I leaned back into him. "I'll figure out what's going on."

Jace's arms came around me and held me to him as we sat in silence. For the first time in a while, we were worried about Alec and it felt wrong. Alec was always the one to worry about us, not the other way around. I started thinking about the past few months and realized that I had been so wrapped up in my own life that I had absolutely no idea what was going on in Alec's life and that wasn't okay with me.

Jace got up from behind me to put a movie on, but Isabelle stopped him.

"I think I'm going to go, too," she said as she stood up from the couch. Why was everyone leaving us tonight? Were we really not fun to hang out with?

"Why are you leaving, now," I asked with a confused expression on my face.

"No offense, but I don't want to be the third wheel." She shrugged her shoulders and started heading toward the door.

"You're not a third wheel, Iz. You're our friend. Why don't you want to hang out with us?"

"Whenever you guys are together, you can't keep your hands off of each other and you kind of ignore everyone else in the room." I was taken aback because I never thought we had a problem, but looking back, I realized she was right. Jace and I had become that couple that I used to make fun of that spends every waking moment together and can't hang out with their friends because they're annoying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were doing any of that. I promise we'll be present and be with you."

"No making out?" I saw Jace roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye and I shot him a death glare.

"We promise." I looked at Jace and gave him a look that said if he didn't agree, he would regret it. He nodded and put the movie on. "Now, come sit down, both of you and let's watch this movie. What did you get, anyway?"

"_Chasing Mavericks_," Jace said as he sat down on the opposite side of the couch from me so Isabelle sat between us. I leaned forward to look around Isabelle and raised my eyebrows at Jace. "What? I can't sit next to you and not touch you, so if you want Izzy to stay, then this is how we're going to sit."

Isabelle and I exchanged a glance before we started busting up laughing. Jace just sat there with his arms crossed over his chest and an ugly scowl marring his face. When we finally calmed down, the movie had just started and I relaxed into the couch as I watched one of my favorite movies.

About halfway through the movie, I decided I wanted popcorn, so I went into the kitchen to make some. As I waited for the bag to start popping, I felt strong arms wrap around my middle and lips on my neck. I leaned back into Jace until I remembered that Isabelle was now by herself in the living room. I pushed away from Jace and turned to give him a look of warning. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hips to pull me to him. He lowered his head and tried to kiss me, but I turned my head so he caught my cheek instead. Before I could allow myself to give into him, I placed my hands on his chest and shoved him back.

"Jace, seriously," I said as I took my popcorn out of the microwave. I leaned back against the counter and he took the same stance on the other side of the kitchen. "I don't want to make Isabelle uncomfortable. You shouldn't have followed me in here and left her alone."

"She's a big girl, Clary," he stated condescendingly. "I think she can handle five minutes alone."

"That's not the point, Jace. She's right about us and I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I never told you that you couldn't sit next to me or touch me, so you did that to yourself."

"Maybe I should leave," I heard Isabelle say and my head snapped to the doorway where she was standing. I didn't want her to leave, but I knew that she would just become even more uncomfortable if she stayed. She walked up to me and hugged me as she whispered in my ear. "Call me if you need anything." I nodded and she turned to leave, not giving Jace a second glance. He may have been her cousin, but I was her best friend and I knew where her loyalty lied.

Jace and I stood our grounds in the kitchen for a few minutes as we stared at each other.

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal," Jace finally said throwing his hands up in frustration.

"You made it a big deal when you acted like a small child who just got his toy taken away," I shot back at him. "I'm sorry that I don't like the fact that my best friend feels like she can't hang out with us alone, but that's not okay. I think you should understand that."

"Well, I'm not going to act like you don't exist when other people are around. That's something I won't do."

"I'm not asking you to act like I don't exist." He just wasn't understanding what I was saying and I hated it. I hated fighting with him, but I couldn't stand the fact that Isabelle felt like she was a third wheel. We were all friends and we should be able to hang out as such.

"What do you want me to do, Clary? Am I not supposed to touch you when other people are around? Should I just stay away from you when our friends are over?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I don't care if you hold my hand or whatever when people are around, in fact, I encourage it, but it gets to a point where people get uncomfortable and I am just know noticing it. Now that I know how Isabelle feels about being with us, I want to fix it. When you sat on the other side of the couch tonight, I laughed it off, but it hurt my feelings. I was just trying to make Izzy feel comfortable and you acted like a spoiled little brat. You proved to her that we can't hang out with other people. How do you think it makes me feel that my best friend wanted to leave immediately after her brother left because she didn't want to be alone with us?"

Jace just shrugged and looked away from me. I couldn't believe the way he was acting and I couldn't take it anymore. I was done having a conversation that was going around in circles. I shook my head and walked out of the kitchen, grabbing my keys from the table.

"Where are you going," Jace shouted from the kitchen.

"To clear my mind," I shouted back. "Let me know when you're done acting like a child."

I opened the door and walked to my car, which already had my surfboard loaded in the back along with the spare bathing suit I always kept in the Jeep. It was already getting dark, but there was only one place I could clear my mind.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying the story so far! Please let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_

_P.S. I have had a countdown on my phone for CoHF since like the day the release date was announced and I'm so excited for there to only be seven days until it's released! I think I'm going to need a solid week to recover emotionally after reading it. ;)_


	27. Chapter 27

It was dark, but the moon was full, so I could see pretty clearly. I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been in the water, but I wasn't ready to go home. I didn't understand why Jace was acting the way he was. It wasn't as if I asked him to move out, I just wanted to hang out with the two most important people in my life together and he was being an immature little brat.

I was lying on my back on my purple board at Break Wall just outside the lineup. The lights of Old Lahaina were lighting the shore and I could hear the music playing from my favorite burger place. The waves were rolling in and I decided to ride one, just for a change of pace. I sat up on my board and whipped myself around so I could paddle for the small wave forming on the outside. When the wave formed underneath me, I pushed myself up and rode the wave leisurely into shore. I quickly slid back onto the board and paddled out to the lineup. As I came to a stop, I sat up on my board and smoothed my wet hair back from my face.

The breeze picked up and a chill ran through my body. I lay back down on my board on my stomach and looked out to the horizon. The moon cast an ethereal light on the surface of the water. I dangled one arm in the water and circled it, feeling the water move over my skin.

I finally allowed myself to think about Jace and how ridiculous he was being. We had never had a fight like this. Sure, we had some small arguments, but nothing we couldn't work out easily. I had never felt the need to get away from him and it was a weird feeling. I always wanted to be closer to him, even now when I was so pissed at him, I just wanted him to come find me and pull me into his arms.

I closed my eyes and let the water and the sounds of the ocean wash over me as I tried to relax. The motion of the water changed and I knew there was something next to me. I had never been afraid of the ocean or what lies in the ocean, but being out on the water, alone at night does things to your mind and my eyes snapped open to see what was creeping up on me.

The moon shined on his golden hair and his eyes glowed in the darkness. He stopped beside me and sat up on his board. I continue to lie on my board and didn't acknowledge him. Jace sat up on his board and looked off into the distance. He was on his board that I made for him when he competed to get on the Quiksilver team.

After months and months of not surfing with him, I was finally able to surf with Jace about two weeks before. I was adamant that he rested his leg for at least a few days after he got the boot off and then we started going out on the water. No surprise, as soon as he got in the water, it was like he never left. I had almost forgotten how graceful and beautiful he was in the water and I had to hold back my tears the first time he rode a wave again. When he was out in the lineup with me again, I didn't felt like something was missing. I felt complete and whole and maybe that was the point. He was my missing piece.

As I watched him look out onto the horizon, the moon gave him an angelic glow and I reached across the small distance between us to place my hand on his knee. His head snapped down to look at me and his eyes were burning into me. I sat up on my board and turned to look at him. He grabbed my ankle under the water and pulled me to him, just like he always did, but this time, when I was close enough, he grasped my waist and lifted me from my board and plunged into the water with me, letting our boards drift away. Before I could say anything, he crashed our bodies together and held on for dear life.

My arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and my head was buried in the crook of his neck. We bobbed in the water until Jace brought his hands up to the back of my neck and pulled away slightly to brush his lips against mine as if he were gauging my reaction. My fingers pushed into his hair and held him to me as I deepened the kiss. He wanted me to have control and I took it. Jace could stand in the water, but my feet were dangling above the bottom, so I wrapped my legs around his waist. We finally broke apart and just held onto each other for a while. We still hadn't spoken and I didn't know if I wanted to.

"You found me," I finally whispered in his ear. Jace pulled back slightly so I was looking into his golden eyes.

"You weren't that hard to find," he shrugged his shoulders and pulled his board back to him before sliding on and pulling me with him. I sat on the front of his board facing him and holding his hand.

"What took you so long?" His hand came up to cup my cheek and I leaned into his touch.

"I was being stupid." He shrugged and ran his thumb back and forth across my skin. "You were right. I was acting like a child and it took me awhile to figure that out. When I realized you weren't coming back, I knew where I could find you, so I did. I'm sorry, pretty girl. I was so wrong and I want you to know that."

"I shouldn't have gone off on you like that, though, so I'm sorry, too." I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah and I love you more than you can imagine." He kissed me one more time. "Let's go home."

Jace and I paddled back into shore and he carried both boards to the Jeep. After he loaded the boards in the back of my car, he pushed me up against the side of the car and kissed me deeply. My hand ran through his hair before finding a place at the back of his neck. It had to have been getting late, but I couldn't focus on anything but the feeling of Jace's lips on mine.

"What was that for," I asked breathlessly when I finally broke off the kiss.

"I just love you," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, well I love you too." I moved to get in the passenger seat, letting Jace drive. "Can we go home now? I'm exhausted." He nodded and kissed my forehead before jogging to the other side of the car.

About thirty seconds after Jace turned the car on, I fell asleep. I woke up feeling like I was flying. When I gained my composure, I realized that Jace was carrying me in the house. Instead of fighting him and trying to get down, I leaned my head onto his shoulder and breathed him in as we entered our house. I didn't want to go to bed yet because I felt like we still needed to discuss some things, even though I was exhausted.

"I want ice cream," I mumbled into Jace's shoulder. I felt him rather than heard him chuckle.

"You don't want to go to bed," Jace asked as I raised my head from his shoulder and shook my head. He placed me on the couch and went into the kitchen to find me some ice cream. I was hoping there was at least something in the freezer because I couldn't remember the last time I bought ice cream, but then I remembered that Jace always kept mango sorbet in the house. He was so weird. "We only have mango sorbet and rainbow sherbet." I perked up noticing that we actually had my favorite flavor. Jace must have bought it for me and I hadn't noticed it.

"Just bring them both." I pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over me and watched as Jace came into the living room carrying two cartons of ice cream and two spoons. He handed me the sherbet and a spoon and I dug in, moaning when the deliciously cold substance passed my lips. "So, I think we should make more of an effort to hang out with our friends. You can't say that we've been a little preoccupied lately and I want to change that. I have no idea what's going on in Alec's life and it bothers me."

"I know what you mean." Jace threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. "Alec and I have always been close. I guess I was kind of hurt when he wouldn't tell me where he was going tonight. Also, looking back, I've noticed that Isabelle never sticks around when we're together. If it's just you two, it's fine, but whenever I'm around, she bails."

"You know what? You're totally right. I wonder why that would be, I mean you're her cousin and I think you guys generally like hanging out with each other." I took another bite of sherbet then stole a bite of Jace's sorbet, to which he literally growled at me. The man and his mangoes were a peculiar thing. "I wonder if it's not you specifically, but maybe it's what we have." Jace raised his eyebrows in question. "Yeah, think about it. When she was about to leave tonight, she said it was because we were all over each other, but if she had a boyfriend, I guarantee she would be the same way. In fact, I've witnessed it. I can't tell you how many times I've been the third wheel to Isabelle and her flavor of the week."

"So what do you think we should do?" Jace placed his sorbet on the table and pulled me onto his lap, but I wasn't done eating my sherbet.

"I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and see what's going on. You are going to talk to Alec and we are going to get the gang back to normal." A smile spread across Jace's face before he leaned in and kissed me. He tasted like mangoes. "You got me my favorite flavor of ice cream."

"Yes, I did." He kissed the tip of my nose. "I'm a pretty awesome boyfriend. It's okay, you can admit it." I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, but he caught my hips and held me in place.

"Eh, you're alright." I shrugged my shoulders and avoided eye contact until I felt his hands squeeze my side. "Don't even think about it, Cali." Jace took that as a challenge and in a flash, my ice cream was taken from my hands and Jace had flipped me onto the couch so he was on top of me, tickling me mercilessly. "Stop! Please, stop!" As a last resort, I found an opening and reached up, grasping the back of Jace's neck and pulling his lips to mine.

I deepened the kiss and Jace lost focus, allowing me to flip us over, effectively landing us on the floor. Jace landed flat on his back with a grunt, but he didn't separate our lips. He broke our kiss and started kissing down my neck and along my collarbone as my hands grabbed a handful of his golden hair. When I yanked his head back to look at me, his eyes were so full of love that I was almost overwhelmed. I couldn't believe he was mine and he was going to be mine forever.

Jace smiled lazily before I laid my head down on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. I finally let the exhaustion settle over me as I let Jace's steady rise and fall of his chest lull me to sleep.

Just before I let the darkness take over, I heard Jace mumbled into my hair, "I love you, my pretty girl."

* * *

**R&R :)**


	28. Chapter 28

"Hey, Izzy," I said as I walked into my old house the next morning. Isabelle was sitting on the couch with her laptop and flagged magazines spread out around her. She had a wedding coming up and was extremely busy. She sat with her legs crossed and a pencil holding up her hair. I sat down on the chair, facing her and picked up a magazine, flipping through it aimlessly.

"Don't tell me you want to be a part of the planning now," Isabelle declared as she looked up from her computer. "I already have everything that I want for your wedding in my head and you can't mess it up."

"Don't worry, I won't go back on our deal." I chuckled as I placed the magazine back down on the table. Isabelle eyed me for a moment before going back to her work. "I did want to talk to you, though."

"Oh, yeah. How did everything end up last night? You looked like you were about to kill Jace when I left."

"Yeah, we're fine. We worked it out, but I actually wanted to talk about you."

"Why would you want to talk about me?" She looked confused and I shifted in my chair to make myself more comfortable. I felt like this could be a long conversation.

"Because I can't remember the last time we talked about you and I'm sorry about that. I've been a bad friend and I've been so focused on Jace and the shop that I've forgotten about the other important person in my life."

"Clary, it's not that big of a deal. You guys have been going through a lot and I understand that some of that takes precedence."

"Okay, well, I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk." Isabelle nodded and looked back down at her computer. "Is there anything you want to talk to me about? Maybe the reason you almost left last night?"

"Yeah, about that." She shifted uncomfortably and looked away from me, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. I get it. You're in love and I shouldn't have criticized you for it."

"No, you were right and that is something that Jace and I discussed last night. What I want to know is if there is some underlying reason you feel the way you do. You can tell me, whatever it is."

"Okay, the truth is that I've been hiding something from you and everyone." She took a deep breath before leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. "There's this guy. He's from the mainland and he moved out here to work for the whale foundation. You might know him, actually, but we've been dating for a while."

"That's awesome, Iz. Why didn't you tell me?"

"We started dating right around the time that Jace got hurt. In fact, the day Jonathan showed up at your house, I was coming over to tell you about him, but other things got in the way." She huffed out a sigh of relief once she was finished explaining herself and I saw a smile spread across her face.

"You must really like him." I said and her head snapped up to face me. "I've never seen you smile like that, Iz. What's his name?"

"Simon Lewis." I knew exactly who she was talking about. He came to work at the whale foundation right at the beginning of the season, but he was there for research. He was the biological expert on the boats and could explain everything about whales with ease. He definitely wasn't the kind of guy I expected Isabelle to be with. She usually rode my coat tails to the beach and snatched herself up a surfer, even though she couldn't care less about surfing.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. "The dorky guy with the glasses who wears Star Wars shirts?"

"That's him. It's a little weird, isn't it? I can't explain it, but he's not like the other guys I've dated and maybe that's why I like him so much. He treats me like a normal human being. He respects me."

"I don't think it's weird. Well, maybe a little weird, but you can't control who you love. I really didn't want to fall for Jace, but sometimes you just have to allow yourself to give in because it just might be the best thing that will ever happen to you." She nodded along with what I was saying, trying to process it. I had a feeling that Simon Lewis was going to change the way Isabelle looked at love and I couldn't have been more excited for her. "So, when do we get to meet him?"

"You've already met him." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but not as your boyfriend. Why don't you bring him to the bar tonight?" She shrugged her shoulders before finally giving in. "Maybe now, you won't be so uptight about PDA." I jokingly said with a smirk.

"You're so funny, but you're totally right. I was jealous because I couldn't do that with my boyfriend, but that was my fault for not telling you." I nodded before getting up from the chair and hugging her.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight, then, with the boy in tow." I raised my eyebrows at her and she nodded before I turned to leave.

I made my way back home because I had some boards I needed to work on while Jace was at the shop. After Jace came home from the tour, our custom orders went through the roof. All of the guys on the team wanted boards and some of them wanted more than one.

Once I got home, I set up my workspace and went to work on a board I was making for one of the guys who surfed with Jace over the summer. It was becoming a really cool board and it was similar to the one I made for Jace, however the designs were unique. I had my Sublime Pandora station blaring and I just let the brush do the work. After about an hour, I was satisfied with the design and moved to gloss over it. Before I got anywhere, I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail, figuring if they wanted to talk to me, they would leave a message.

After I glossed the board, I decided to head into the house and give Jace a call to see if he wanted to hit the waves before sunset. Before I could pull my phone out, Jace came running up the steps, out of breath and panting for air. He came to a sudden stop in front of me and bent over resting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. I just stood there, confused and wanting to know what was going on.

"What's going on, Cali," I asked when he finally stood up and caught his breath. "You're kind of freaking me out."

"Are we going to the bar tonight," he asked and I raised my eyebrows in question.

"Yeah, Isabelle is bringing her boyfriend to meet us, why?"

"We need to celebrate." He said simply. I was really getting irritated that he wouldn't tell me what was going on.

"Jace, just tell me what's going on. You're acting crazy." Jace led me to the steps and we sat down next to each other, but I turned sideways to face him.

"Did you get a call from a number you didn't recognize today?" I leaned back and nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't answer. Should I have answered?"

"Yes, but it's okay because they called me instead." I was still utterly confused and he was taking way too long to say what he needed to say. "The call was from one of the managers of the Quiksilver team, but not the manager who dealt with me. This guy works with the big guys. He was calling because one of his surfers saw someone surfing with one of our boards and wants us to make him a custom board." My heart started pounding, trying to figure out who Jace was talking about. "Kelly Slater wants us to make him a board."

Then, my heart stopped. I couldn't breath or form words. Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer, possibly the greatest athlete, of all time wanted Jace and I to make him a board. It was unbelievable.

"Clary," Jace asked waving his hand in front of my face. I couldn't say anything as I threw myself into Jace's arms. He laughed when he fell back against the deck with me on top of him.

"You have got to be kidding me," I finally shouted in his ear before getting up and doing a ridiculous happy dance around our front yard. "Kelly Slater wants a One Love board. This is amazing!" Jace laughed as he stood and ran toward me before throwing me over his shoulder and spinning around in circles. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, aside from Jace proposing to me. "So, how is this going to work?"

Jace put me down on the ground. "Well, Kelly is going to come into the shop sometime next week and work out a design with us. Then, he's going to use the board for a photo shoot he has next month."

"Do you realize what this means for us? Someone like Kelly Slater riding our boards is going to get us so much attention."

"Next to going pro, this is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me." I raised my eyebrows at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Gee, thanks." I said jokingly and saw Jace squirm. I loved when I could make him uncomfortable. He was always so confident that it was fun to knock him down a few pegs.

"You know what I mean. You were the best thing that's ever happened to me. There's a big difference."

"Good." I smiled before reaching up to kiss him. "Now, I do believe we have some celebrating to do. Let's go." Before I could get to my Jeep, Jace grabbed my arm, turning me around and slammed his mouth against mine. He cradled my head as he kissed me deeply. His hands found my waist and he lifted me into his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist. "Jace, I told Isabelle we would be there in twenty minutes." I said as Jace trailed his lips along my neck and shoulder. I hadn't realized we had come into the house until I felt Jace set me down on the bed.

"I don't really care," Jace whispered against my skin. "This is my kind of celebrating." I tried to push him away, but he was too strong, not that I really wanted to push him away, anyway.

We finally walked into the bar an hour later to see Isabelle sitting at a table with Simon. I pulled Jace with me as we made our way to the table and Isabelle spotted us. Was I imagining things or did she actually look nervous? As we go closer to the table, Isabelle stood from her seat to greet us. After she greeted us, she turned to the man standing behind her. She introduced Simon to us and we engaged in the normal pleasantries. I waved at the bartender, who was my former co-worker, and indicated that we would need a pitcher of beer for the table. She nodded as I sat down next to Jace and he put his arm around me.

Simon and Isabelle were sitting awfully close and it made me smile because she had someone I could tell she really liked. Jace was skeptical of Simon, at first. I don't understand what his problem was, maybe he was just protective of Isabelle, but it was starting to get awkward.

"If you don't start having fun like the rest of us, I'm going to send you home," I whispered in Jace's ear. "Just relax." I kissed his jaw before standing up and offering him my hand. Maybe a spin on the dance floor would loosen him up.

I led Jace to the dance floor and he pulled me to him as the band played a slow song. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes as I felt Jace's chest rumbled with the words he was singing. I loved listening to Jace sing. Sometimes, right before I fell asleep at night, he would sing softly in my ear and it always soothed me. As the song switched over, the tempo picked up, but we continued dancing the same way. I just wanted to fell his arms around me. I felt him take a deep breath and I raised my head to look into his burning, golden eyes.

"What's with you, tonight," I asked. He should have been so happy. We were supposed to be celebrating and he was acting like someone had spit in his beer.

"It's weird seeing Isabelle with a guy," he said and I raised my eyebrows in confusion. Isabelle always had a guy on her arm, but then I remembered that Jace hadn't gone to high school with us. He had never known the Isabelle I knew and loved.

"She's a big girl, Jace." He smirked at me. "Trust me, she can handle herself with any guy. I'm actually a little worried about Simon because I believe Isabelle has the power to break his heart. He's a good guy, Jace and you should try to get to know him, for Izzy's sake."

"Yeah, yeah." He pulled my head back down to rest on his chest.

The rest of the night turned out better than the beginning. Jace had stopped giving Simon the cold shoulder and we were able to celebrate like we had originally wanted. I was well on my way to drunk when Jace decided that it was time to go home. We hadn't driven to the bar, since we could just walk, but I was pretty wobbly as we exited the bar. Before I knew what was going on, Jace had scooped me into his arms and was carrying me home like I weighed nothing.

"You always take such good care of me," I mumbled as I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

"I love taking care of you," he mumbled into my hair as he laid me down in bed and pulled the covers up over me. "I'll love it for the rest of my life."

* * *

:)


	29. Chapter 29

The sun was setting below the horizon and Jace and I were having a surf session in celebration of our successful board consultation with Kelly Slater. I may have freaked out just a little bit when the greatest surfer ever walked into our quiet little board shop to help us design his board. Jace was so calm and collected as he shook the hand of the guy who set a precedent for all professional surfers after him. After we finished the consultation, Kelly let us take him on a tour of the shop and we had a nice conversation with him about our own professional experiences. In the end, he told us that he would definitely be back to add more of our boards to his quiver of boards. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I sat up on my board as Jace paddled back out to me. He glided to my side and sat up on his own board before pulling my board closer to him and grabbing my ankle to anchor me to his board, like he always did.

"What are you thinking about, pretty girl," he asked as he gave my foot a gentle squeeze.

"How amazing you were today," I said with a small smile. "I basically followed you two around with my tongue hanging out of my mouth. I was barely able to speak and tell him about my ideas for the designs. It was just so surreal."

"I know what you mean. I was barely holding in all of excitement when he asked us to show him around the shop. Someone like Kelly Slater walking around my tiny little shop that I've worked so hard to build up was just the coolest thing ever."

I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. The sun had set and it was beginning to get dark so we decided to ride a wave in together and head to the restaurant where Mom and Luke were waiting to here all about our meeting. When I popped up on my board, riding the wave in, I turned into Jace and hopped off of my board and onto his board. After a few seconds, we bailed before pulling ourselves back onto our boards and paddling back into shore.

Jace carried both of our boards back to the Jeep because he was a gentleman like that and I hopped into the driver's seat before starting the car and driving to the restaurant.

"Are Izzy and Simon coming, too," Jace asked as we walked toward the restaurant hand in hand.

"Yeah and apparently, Alec has something he needs to talk to us about," I told him as he nodded in understanding. "Did you ever talk to him about that night at our house and why he was acting weird?"

"Um…" he trailed off and avoided eye contact. I pulled him to a stop just outside the restaurant and forced him to look me in the eye.

"What aren't you telling me, Cali?" I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot expectantly.

"I talked to him." He finally said with a sigh of relief. "And I know what's going on, but I swore I wouldn't tell anyone. He needs to be the one to tell you and he will tell you when he's ready. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I just couldn't."

"It's okay. I understand, but I just wish Alec would tell me what's going on." Jace pulled me into his arms and I buried my face into his chest, inhaling his scent, which smelled like saltwater and something purely Jace. After a few seconds, we walked inside and sat down at our normal table where everyone was already waiting for us. We greeted everyone before sitting down.

Mom asked how our meeting went and we told her everything from the moment Kelly Slater walked into our shop to the moment he walked out. Simon was basically interrogated by Mom because this was her first time meeting him. I had to hide my smile when he looked nervous and sweaty because I knew without even having to ask my mom that she liked Simon and he had nothing to worry about. Throughout dinner, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Alec wanted to talk about something and trying to figure out what it was. My mind wandered to everything from a secret love child to jail time, but none of my explanations seemed plausible.

"Okay," Alec finally interjected once our food was cleared from the table. My head snapped to face him and I knew I was about to get my answers. Jace placed his hand over my knee under the table to stop it from bouncing nervously. "I know I've been acting weird lately and I have a reason, but it's taken me a while to gather the courage to tell all of you what's going on." Alec glanced at Jace and Jace gave him a nod encouraging him to continue. "Um, I haven't even told my parents this, but I'm closer to this family than my own, so I feel like I should tell you first." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before continuing. When he opened his eyes, they were clear, like he finally found his courage. "I'm gay."

It seemed like time had stopped. Everyone at the table sat with their mouths open, staring in Alec's direction. Everyone but Jace, that is. He knew about this and didn't tell me, but I completely understood. I would have rather heard this from Alec. I don't know what Alec was so worried about, though. We all loved him and nothing was going to change that. I did understand, however, why he was afraid to tell his parents. His father had always been very old-fashioned and he would be unpredictable when Alec told him. I glanced at Isabelle, who had a small smile spreading across her face with pride. Something told me that she always had a hunch and she was proud of her brother for finally accepting who he was. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

"I'm proud of you, Alec," she said from beside him and he turned to look at her. "To be honest, I've always kind of known and I'm glad you are accepting who you are. I love you no matter what."

"I think that goes for all of us, honey," Mom said as she stood from her seat and walked around the table to wrap her arms around Alec. I nodded in agreement. "We don't care. You're still Alec and we still love you because of who you are."

"See," Jace asked with a raised eyebrow. "I told you everything would be fine."

"Yeah, I know," Alec said as his shoulders relaxed. "It's just a big deal and people can handle these things in ways you don't expect."

"What made you decide to tell us," I asked wanting to know why he didn't tell us sooner.

"I met someone," Alec replied. "He was tired of having to hide our relationship because I wasn't secure with who I was. I had to make a decision. Either I lose one of the best things to ever happen to me or I accept who I am and tell the people I love."

"That's beautiful," I said as I placed my hand over my chest and my eyes filled with tears. "Who is he? Do we get to meet him?"

"You've already met him." Isabelle and I raised our eyebrows in question and leaned in closer to him. "He works here, at the restaurant." Alec turned around and pointed toward the bar where a man was standing behind the bar, watching us. When he caught Alec's eye, his face brightened with a smile. He had purple tips in his black hair and his skin shimmered like it was covered in glitter and his eyes were piercing like a cat's. "Magnus."

I had met Magnus a few times, but he definitely wasn't the type of person I imagined Alec with. When I thought about it though, Magnus' eccentric personality would compliment Alec nicely. I could see the apprehension in Alec's facial expression. Tonight wasn't the night we needed to officially meet his boyfriend and Magnus seemed to understand that. He gave Alec a wink and went back to shining the glasses behind the bar.

We fell back into normal conversation and I was happy that Alec was acting like himself again. Jace leaned over and kissed my temple before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. Isabelle and my mom went into discussions of the wedding and I tried to tune them out, but they were trying to make plans to go dress shopping, which was the only thing I cared about. We agreed to go shopping the next week and I proceeded to ignore everything else about the wedding.

I turned to face Jace as the rest of the table discussed what they were planning for the weekend. Jace tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and cupped my cheek as I leaned into his touch. I motioned my head signaling that I was ready to leave. As much as I loved being with my family, it was a long day and I just wanted to be in my bed, falling asleep next to my amazing fiancé.

Jace took my hand and announced that we were leaving. We said our goodbyes and made plans to go to the bar with Isabelle, Simon, Alec and Magnus the next night. Jace took the keys and helped me into the Jeep. He held my hand the entire way home and as we walked up the front steps.

Once we stepped through our front door, Jace bent down and scooped me into his arms as I squealed. I ran my hand through his hair, which had grown since I had met him. It was a little past his shoulders at this point, but it looked amazing against his tan skin. I stared at his profile, admiring is features, his golden eyes that stared into my soul when I first met him.

When I looked back on that day, I couldn't believe that someone dropping in on my wave would change my life, but it did and I wouldn't want to change any of it. Sometimes I wondered what I would be doing if Jace had never dropped into my life that day. I would probably be working at the hotel still and would never have discovered my love for designing boards. I definitely wouldn't have the life I have now and I could accredit all of it to Jace.

Jace sat down on the couch with me settled into his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his hands gripped my waist.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Alec," he said as he stared into my eyes.

"Don't worry about it," I waved him off. "I understand why you didn't and I'm glad you didn't because it was something we all needed to hear from him and I'm happy for him." Jace nodded and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I could have fallen asleep right there. Jace was so comfortable and with his arms around me, I always felt safe and loved. "I love you, a lot, Jace Lightwood, even though you're from California."

"I love you, too, pretty girl." He turned his head and landed a kiss on the top of my head. "Even though you yelled at me the first time we met."

"You love when I yell at you." I smacked his chest and it rumbled with laughter. I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

"Yeah, I love when the fiery redhead comes out." I pushed on his chest, but his hold on me tightened and I relaxed into his chest. "You're cute when you're mad."

"I hope you continue to think that because you're infuriating and you're going to have to deal with my fieriness for the rest of your life."

"Gladly."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been a few days, but I was really busy with my last finals and moving out of my apartment and back into my house. That sucked royally and then add the eight hour drive it takes to get home and starting my summer job and I've been exhausted. _

_Anyway, I finally added some Malec into one of my stories! I felt like it was time and I know some of you really wanted to see some Malec in here. I hope I've done them justice so far. _

_So, please let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_

_P.S. I've had my CoHF for about five hours and have just stared at it because I don't think I'm emotionally prepared to start reading it..._


	30. Chapter 30

"Okay, I'm coming out," I said from behind a changing room door. I, along with my mom and Isabelle, were in the same dress shop Mom had bought her wedding dress in, trying to find my perfect dress. So far, I wasn't having much luck, but I had a feeling about the dress I was wearing. It was lacey, which I didn't think I would like, but it was beautiful and simple, matching my personality. The dress fitted me like a glove and hugged my curves in all of the right places. It was beautiful and elegant and perfect.

I opened the door to the changing room and stepped out to the pedestal that stood in front of a wall of mirrors. My mom and Isabelle were sitting on a couch behind me, waiting to see my reaction to the dress. For a moment, I blocked them out and focused on my reflection in the mirror. My hair was down and I didn't have any makeup on, but the dress made me feel like I could get married that second. I could imagine myself walking down the aisle in this dress and watching Jace's face as I did so.

"That's the one," I heard my mother's voice say and I turned over my shoulder to see both her and Isabelle wiping tears from their eyes. I smiled back at them and tried to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I nodded in agreement. Isabelle jumped up and squealed as she came toward me and wrapped her arms around me.

"This is so exciting," Isabelle exclaimed as she clapped her hands in excitement. "Now that you have the dress, everything else will fall into place. I already have most of the logistics planned and the flowers picked out. I have my dress and I ordered the boys' outfits. Everything is going to be perfect."

I smiled as she rambled off details that I didn't really care about and admired my dress. It was the one thing that really mattered to me and I couldn't believe I had found the perfect dress to marry Jace in.

There were almost exactly four months until I made Jace my husband and I was growing impatient. I couldn't understand why we were waiting so long, especially since Isabelle had the thing planned within a week, but I knew it was going to be amazing no matter what. Jace had mentioned multiple times that we should just elope and as much as that sounded perfect to me, I knew that I would regret not having the beautiful wedding that Isabelle had planned and that we would remember for the rest of our lives, especially when I saw myself in the dress. I knew that I would want Jace to see me in this dress and if we eloped, he might never get to.

I stood in front of the mirror as my mom and Isabelle gushed over how beautiful the dress was for a few more minutes before I went back in the dressing room and changed. We ordered the dress before we left and went our separate ways. Isabelle had a date with Simon and Mom had to get back to the restaurant. It was late afternoon so I knew that Jace would have closed the shop and headed to Break Wall to wait for me.

When I drove up to Break Wall and grabbed my purple board, I could see the mop of golden hair I was looking for out in the lineup. I watched as he whipped his board around and paddled for a wave. Watching Jace surf was like watching a dancer on stage at the ballet. He was so fluid with his movements and made it look so effortless.

His leg was still giving him some grief, but I knew he was just putting on a brave face and trying to put off surgery for as long as possible or at least until after the wedding. I knew he didn't want to have to be in a cast as he stood on the beach for a ceremony and sure as hell wasn't going to give up dancing with me at the reception. I had told him that I would support him in whatever he wanted to do, so I had to keep my mouth shut when he limped around the house in the morning because his leg was stiff.

I headed out to the lineup where Jace was waiting for another wave. I glided up to his side and sat up my board. Before either of us even greeted each other, Jace grabbed my ankle and anchored our boards together like it was second nature. He leaned over to kiss my temple, but I turned my head at the last second and pressed my lips against his.

"Hey, Cali," I said against his lips with a smile. The entire time I was in the dress shop I couldn't wait to get back to him and I couldn't have been happier to be in our special place with him at that moment.

"You know," he began, "when you first started calling me Cali, I hated it. I thought it was something you called me because you didn't like California, so I figured you didn't like me."

"It started out that way." I turned my head away shortly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "It didn't last long, though. I was so pissed at you for dropping in on me, and you just looked like a kid from California who couldn't care less about Hawaii or the waters or tradition and I was livid. So much of surfing has to do with respect, respect for others surfers and respect for the ocean and I figured you just didn't care. I changed my mind after thirty seconds of actually talking to you. In the grand scheme of things, I'm glad you dropped in on me that day because I wouldn't be here, in this moment and I couldn't imagine anywhere else I would want to be than with you, on this board."

"I love you, pretty girl." His hand cupped the back of my neck and pulled my lips to meet his. What I wouldn't have given to have been married to him in that moment. His hands moved to my waist and, in true Jace fashion, he pulled me off of my board and onto his. Instead of letting my get comfortable on his board, though, Jace flipped us both off of his board and into the water. His arms remained around my waist, holding me to his chest as we surfaced. His smile was bright as he pushed my hair out of my face. It was a good thing there weren't very many people in the lineup because I had no idea what direction my board had floated off to, even though it was still connected to my leash.

"What was that for," I half shouted as Jace tried to stifle his laughter at the look on my face.

"Your hair wasn't wet," he shrugged and I tried to push away from him, but his hold on me tightened. "I figured I would help you rectify the situation, you know, because I'm such a giving person." I let my hands fall to my sides so I wasn't voluntarily touching him and turned away from him, trying to act like I was actually upset. "Oh, come on. That was funny and it's not like you weren't going to get your hair wet anyway." I couldn't help but smile at his attempts to defend himself.

"You're lucky I love you." I kissed him quickly as my arms found their proper place around his neck and my legs wrapped around his waist.

"Do you want to surf for a little while?" He said between kisses, but I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. All of the sudden, I was sitting on my board and Jace was still floating in the water, holding himself to my board with his arms crossed on top of it.

"Is that even a question?" He chuckled and let go of my board before pulling his back to him and sliding back on. He stayed on his stomach and rested his head on his crossed arms with his head turned to face me.

"How was your day?" He reached over and placed his hand on my knee. I smiled down at him and his golden eyes reflected the blue water beneath him.

"Amazing." I smiled and laced our fingers together. "I found a dress." Jace raised his eyebrows and smiled. As much as I didn't care about the tiny details for the wedding, the dress mattered to me and I loved my dress. "It's perfect. I can't wait for you to see it."

"I'm glad because I can't wait to see it." He kissed my hand. "I can't wait for you to be my wife." Jace sat up on his board, letting go of my hand and turned his board sideways as a wave formed in the distance. "Take this wave with me."

I nodded and turned my board around to start paddling for the wave. Jace was doing the same about five feet from me as the wave approached us. He smiled in my direction as we both popped up on our boards and turned down the line. Jace pulled up right next to me and reached his hand out for me to take. He yelled for me to hop on his board, the same way I would after our wedding ceremony, and pulled me from my board onto his. I stood in front of him as we rode the wave in and sat back down on his board. My board was floating a few feet away as I turned to face Jace.

"You're perfect," I said as I cupped his cheek with my hand and he leaned into my hand.

"You're just now realizing this," he asked with a skeptical look on his face, so humble as always. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his comment.

"You know? I just love how cocky you are all the time." I said as sarcastically as I could manage.

"I'm not cocky. I'm confident. There's a big difference." His hand squeezed my side and I squealed.

"I know and that's one of the things that I love most about you." I kissed his cheek. "I love that you are confident in every thing you do, but then there's sometimes when we're alone that I see your true vulnerability. I see that you don't have it together all the time. I see that you're human."

He kissed me again and we paddled back out to the lineup. We surfed for another hour before heading into shore and Jace took my board from me to take it to the Jeep. I tossed him the keys after he put the boards in the back of the car and we headed home where I had a frozen pizza waiting to be baked. I never said I could cook. Surf, yes. Cook, it's questionable. I've got about three dishes in the vault and that's it.

When he pulled up to the house, he stopped the car, but didn't get out. I sat next to him, knowing he wanted to say something and waiting for him to just get it out. Jace reached across the space between us and took my hand in his.

"Jace, what is it," I asked because he was starting to freak me out.

"Um, I have to tell you something and you're not going to like it," he said and squeezed my hand. Immediately, I thought the worst. What if he didn't want to marry me? What if he was leaving and never coming back? "Stop freaking out. It's not what you're thinking." He said calming my nerves, but not completely. "It's just that Kelly Slater came in today to pick up his board and I knew you wanted to be there when he did, but he was in town and he just dropped in. The board was waiting on one of the displays, so he just took it. I'm sorry."

"Did you really think I was going to be mad about that?" He looked tense, like he was gearing himself up for a fight. "Jace, that's not that big of a deal. Yes, I wanted to see his face when we gave him the board and wanted to talk about the design with him, but it's not the end of the world."

"Okay, good." He leaned over and kissed my cheek before we got out of the car. He led me into the house and I put the pizza in the oven before joining him on the couch. He kissed the top of my head as I curled into his side. "Oh, I almost forgot. Kelly said that there would be someone coming in to interview us about the board to be in the spread Kelly is shooting with his new board."

"Shut up." I smacked him on the chest and smiled so big it hurt my face. "You have got to be kidding me." He shook his head and laughed at my excitement before I slammed my lips against his. "I love you." I kissed him again. "I'm so proud of you."

"You're the one I should be proud of." He cupped my cheek. "I just shape the boards, but you're the one who makes them unique, who gets them noticed. You make my plain boards beautiful. You bring light to my life and I'm so glad I found you."

Jace and I were a team that couldn't be beat. We were building a business and a life together that was making all of my dreams come true.

* * *

_Thanks so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I will probably only be updating once a week during the summer so just bear with me! _

_Please let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	31. Chapter 31

It was a slow day at the shop and I was standing behind the counter, doodling on a piece of paper. It was just a random design, but I could tell that I wanted to put it on a board at some point. Jace and I hadn't had too many custom boards lately and I was just keeping the racks in the shop stocked, which wasn't fueling my creative side as much as custom boards did.

Sublime was blasting through the speakers and I turned the volume up, blocking out everything around me as I leaned back and examined my drawing. The paper was covered up with a stack of surf magazines and I looked up to see Jace standing in front of me.

"Do you mind," I asked in a slightly harsher tone than necessary. "I was doing something."

"Why don't you take a look at the cover of the magazine," Jace suggested, glancing down at the stack of magazines. I looked down, annoyed that he interrupted my drawing. When I examined the cover, I noticed that Kelly Slater was on the cover, riding our board. I let out a gasp and snatched the magazine from the counter before turning to the page Kelly's interview was on. I scanned the page and when I saw our names, I smiled so big it hurt.

"'And Jace Lightwood,'" I read from the page, "'who has brought his California flair to Hawaiian board shaping, along with his fiancé Clary Fray, who's unique illustrations bring the boards to life, have attracted the attention of one of the greatest surfers of all time. Slater says that the board they made custom for him in one of the best boards he's ever ridden and definitely the most unique. Lightwood and Fray are on their way to becoming permanent fixtures in the professional surfing world.'"

I hugged the magazine to my chest and looked across the counter at Jace, who couldn't get the goofy grin off of his face. I was speechless. We were now associated with Kelly Slater and the attention it would get us would be ridiculous.

"Are you glad I interrupted you now," Jace asked as he came around to the other side of the counter and turned me to face him. I still wasn't able to speak, so I just nodded in response as Jace pulled me into his arms. He kissed the top of my head as I held the magazine between our chests. I looked up at him and smiled. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I can't even describe how cool this is," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "I was a professional surfer and got to surf in some of the coolest places in the world, but none of that even compares to this moment."

"I know what you mean." I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to kiss him, so I grasped the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine. "I just wish we were married because it would have been even cooler to tell the world that you're mine."

"You're such a dork." I shook my head and pushed him away.

"Yeah, but I'm your dork." He said pulling me back to him and kissing my forehead. He took something off of the counter and handed it to me before I realized it was a frame. "Would you like to do the honors?"

I nodded and took the frame from him before cutting the cover off of the magazine to frame it. Once the cover was framed, I held it up to admire. The picture on the cover was awesome and you could see the board perfectly. The name of our shop was printed proudly under Kelly Slater's name.

"Where should we hang it," I asked turning to face the wall behind me where our pictures stood. I hung the picture next to the one of Jace and I standing at the top of Black Rock without waiting to see where Jace wanted to hang it.

His arms wrapped around me from behind and his lips pressed against the side of my head. "Perfect," he whispered with his lips against my skin and I felt like his words had a double meaning because he wasn't looking at the picture. "Two weeks." I knew exactly what he meant and a chill ran through my body as a big, goofy smile spread across my face. "In two weeks, I'm going to make you my wife."

"I know." I turned in his arms and pressed my lips against his. My fingers ran through his hair as he turned us around and lifted me on top of the counter, standing between my legs. I wrapped my arms around his neck before I pulled back slightly. "I love you, so much and I can't wait to be your wife."

Jace kissed the tip of my nose before turning away, leaving me on the counter. I hopped down and turned around to sort through the pile of mail on the counter as Jace worked through our custom orders on the computer. I sorted out all the bills and came across an envelope that was addressed to me and looked like a letter. There was no return address, so I set it aside to look at later, thinking it was odd to get a personal letter at work.

We worked for the rest of the day before heading to my mom's house for family dinner. These dinners had come a long way from when we were in high school and it was just us kids and Mom. We all had someone in our lives and our little family had doubled in size. I thought about the letter in my purse and figured I would open it when I got to Mom and Luke's house.

"So," I said as we pulled up to their house, "I got this letter in the mail today and it was addressed to me with no return address. I don't know why, but I'm afraid to open it, like there's something I don't want to know hidden in it."

"Do you have it," Jace asked and I nodded before pulling the envelope out of my purse. He turned it over in his hands and went for the seal before I could stop him. Instead of telling him not to read it, I felt like he should read it before I did, like he could protect me from whatever was in the letter. His brow furrowed as he scanned the page and he swiped his hand down his face before folding the paper up and facing me, cupping my cheek with his hand.

"What did it say?" I was so nervous and I didn't know why. I had no idea why getting this letter gave me an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Um, it was from Valentine Morgenstern," he said and I immediately tensed up as Jace placed his hand on my knee and squeezed reassuringly. I had never told Jace about my father, but I assumed from the look on his face that he knew who Valentine was after reading the letter. "Your dad?" I nodded, still not able to find my voice. "Has he ever tried to contact you before this?" I shook my head as Jace pulled me across the center of the Jeep and onto his lap. His arms wrapped around my waist as he ran his hand up and down my arm and his face buried in my neck.

"Why now," I whispered, finally breaking my silence. "I accepted the fact that my dad left, a long time ago. I accepted that he didn't want us and it was always just my mom and me. I never wanted it to be any way else, but I never expected him to try and get in touch with me. He's had twenty-two years to be my father and now he decides to contact me?"

"I know, baby." Jace rubbed soothing circles into my back, trying to calm me, but my anger was rising with each passing second. "You don't have to respond to him. You don't have to accept him into your life. As far as I'm concerned, he's the stupidest man alive for leaving two of the most amazing women I've ever met. He missed out on being the father to an amazing girl, who turned into the kindest, most giving woman, who I love more than anything."

"What did he say in the letter?" I asked as he lifted his head to look me in the eyes. "I don't think I want to read the letter, but I want to know what he wants."

"He said that he saw the article about our shop and heard you were getting married." Jace took a deep breath. "He wants to see you."

"Oh, so he heard how successful I've become and wants to get in on the action. So, he can tell people that he's my dad or some shit like that." I shook my head, clearing my mind of all the thoughts running through my head. "I love you, Jace, and I appreciate that you're trying to help me, but I really need to talk to my mom."

Jace nodded and opened the door, lifting me off of his lap before leading me into the house with my hand held tight in his. Once we were inside, we bypassed the living room where our friends were congregated. I noticed Jace shoot them a look that said I was having a moment and not to ask, which I was thankful for. We made our way to the kitchen where Mom and Luke were making dinner. She looked so happy that I almost didn't want to bring up a difficult time in her life, but I needed her and I knew she would understand.

"Mom," I said and my voice cracked, drawing her from whatever task she was doing. Her face dropped when she saw the look on mine and she ran around the counter before I broke down in tears and let go of Jace's hand so she could wrap her arms around me. She held me in her arms, like I was a small child who needed comforting as Jace and Luke stood off to the side, silently comforting us by just being there. After a few minutes, she led me to my old bedroom where she sat on the edge of my bed and I curled up next to her with my head on her lap. She ran her fingers through my hair as I continued to cry. I was fairly certain that she knew what I was so upset about without having to ask me.

"It's your dad, isn't it," she asked and I nodded my head against her thigh before I sat up and she wiped the tears from my face. "What happened, Clary?"

"I got a letter today from him," I explained before telling her that I had Jace read the letter and that my dad wanted to see me. I could see the emotions pass over her face and knew this had to be difficult for her to hear. It was always us against the world and we had both been hurt by Valentine, but my pain was just now being realized. She had had twenty years to get over the pain he caused her and I was sure this was bringing back terrible memories for her. "I don't know what to do, Mom. Part of me wants to meet him and ask him why he left us, why we weren't good enough for him, but the other part doesn't want to give him the satisfaction. He left us and chose not to be a part of our lives. Why should I give him a chance now?"

"I can't tell you what you should do, honey." She ran her fingers through my hair again and I didn't see my mother in that moment, but I saw every moment she had ever comforted me in my life flash before my eyes. What I didn't see was my father doing the same thing. She was the one who gave me life, comforted me when I was hurting and listened to me when I needed her advice. "But, I will support whatever you decide to do. Part of me thinks that it would be good for you to meet your father, but the other doesn't want to share you with someone who didn't care enough to stick around twenty minutes past the first ultrasound." I smiled sadly at her and wrapped my arms around her as she mirrored my own thoughts. "You don't have to decide what to do right this second, but whatever you do decide, I will understand."

I nodded as we held each other close, trying to comfort each other. I knew I should probably figure out what I was going to do before I got married, that I should start this new chapter in my life without anything weighing on my heart, but I wasn't ready to make the decision of what exactly I wanted to do.

We made our way back out to the kitchen where Luke and Jace were having what looked like a serious conversation. As we walked past them, Jace looked up, giving me that stupid smirk and a wink and I couldn't help but smile.

I made my way into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Isabelle, who looked concerned as I leaned my head against her shoulder and she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. I watched as Jace entered the room and sat down next to me. They exchanged a glance as Jace placed his hand on my knee and I lifted my head from Isabelle's shoulder. I mustered a smile as Jace looked at me with all the love in his heart. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead before pulling me into his arms.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear so no one else could hear, but I noticed that the room had mostly cleared, giving us our privacy. "I wish I could take away all of your pain and it kills me to see you like this, but I want you to know that I love you and will love you forever. I will help you with whatever you need because I need you to be happy. You being happy makes me happy and it's my goal in life to make you happy."

I nodded into his chest and he pulled me onto his lap as I just let him holding me take away the pain temporarily. I didn't know what I was going to do, but for the moment, Jace was making me feel better. He was making me feel loved, like I was the only girl in the world.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. To the person who gave me the idea to include Valentine, thank you! Hopefully you all enjoy the twist and the way I will take this storyline. Please feel free to let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


	32. Chapter 32

I wanted answers. As much as I wanted to just ignore the letter, I sent an e-mail to the address Valentine included in the letter, telling him to come to the shop today. I didn't want to meet in a neutral location; I wanted to meet on my turf where Jace wouldn't be too far away. I told Jace that he had to stay in the back, unless I told him I needed him because I knew Jace would want to kill my dad as soon as he walked through the door.

I stood behind the counter, nervously tapping my pencil and staring off into the distance. Strong arms wrapped around me and I instantly relaxed. Jace kissed my temple and I closed my eyes.

"You don't have to do this," he whispered into my hair. "We can close up, leave and go surfing. Just say the word."

"No, I need to do this," I said with a new resolve. "I need answers. I need to know why I wasn't good enough for him to stick around and I need to know before we get married because I don't want any of that weighing on my heart when I give you my heart completely."

Jace squeezed me tight and I lost myself in the comfort he was providing me with. The bell above the door rang, alerting us to someone entering the shop. I opened my eyes and, for the first time in my life, they connected with those of my father. He was tall and muscular, with the same surfer build Jace had. Mom had shown me pictures of my dad when I was younger, so I knew that most of my looks came from her. The man standing in front of me could have been any stranger off the street and it wouldn't make a difference because I didn't know him.

Jace's arms released me before giving my hand a gentle squeeze and he walked around the counter to greet my father. He introduced himself and Valentine reached out a hand to shake Jace's. Jace simply stared at it before turning toward the back room. He told me to call him if I needed him and I nodded as he disappeared into the back.

I stared as Valentine walked toward the counter, still not believing that I was actually looking at my father. He stopped in front of me, with the counter separating us.

"Hello, Clarissa," he said finally acknowledging my existence. The way he used my full name gave me the creeps and I wanted to slink away from him. "You look just like your mother."

"Really," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "That's what you have to say after twenty-two years. You've never even met me, never even tried to contact me and you say I look like my mom? Of course, I look like her and I'm glad because as far as I'm concerned, she's my only parent." I took a deep breath as I watched his face fall. "Why are you here, Valentine?"

"I saw the article." He took a step closer and I instinctually took a step back. "When I saw that you were getting married, I wanted to make sure that this guy was good enough for you."

"How would you know what's good for me? You don't know me. You lost the right to approve of my husband when you walked out on us. I would have rather never met you, to be honest. We were doing just fine without you and just because you decided all of the sudden that you want a part in my life, doesn't mean I'm going to give it to you." Valentine averted his gaze from me, but I wasn't done. I had twenty years of pent up emotions about my father and he was going to hear them. "I just don't understand why we weren't good enough for you. I wasn't even born yet, you hadn't even met me and I still wasn't good enough for you. It doesn't make sense because I know, deep down, that Jace would never leave me or our child because he loves me. I guess that's it; you didn't love us and I don't think you love me now, or else it wouldn't have taken you twenty years to contact me. Not one phone call on my birthday, not once did you stop by to say hi. You are not my father and I wish I could change your name on my birth certificate so I didn't have any claim to you."

"You don't know what you're talking about." He said as he shook his head and closed his eyes. "You don't know what happened back then and why I left."

"Then why don't you tell me? Please, enlighten me on why you left my pregnant mother to raise me alone." I shook my head, clearing my mind of all thoughts. "You know what? I don't really care. It doesn't matter why you left. You could have come back at any time and you could have had a relationship with me, but you waited too long and I don't want to know you.

"When I was younger, Mom used to cry every year on my birthday after I went to sleep because you weren't there with us. I don't think she really cared about you, but she wanted you to see everything you gave up because we survived without you and we don't need you now, so please, do us a favor and just leave us alone. If you came here fishing for an invite to my wedding or hoping that we would have some long-lost, father-daughter moment and I would ask you to give me away, you should leave before you're disappointed because you don't have any hold over me. You can't give away something you never had."

I stood there, trying to catch my breath as Valentine, my father, stared at me and I felt nothing. This man wasn't my father and he never would be. He was simply some guy who got my mom pregnant and left before I was even born. Luke was more of a father to me than Valentine would ever be. I never needed a father because my mom was enough of a parent for both of them. With all of this off of my chest, I felt lighter, like I could marry Jace without any baggage holding me down to my past.

Valentine turned to leave, without saying anything, but stopped when I said, "I forgive you." He turned back around with a confused look. "I forgive you for leaving because I wouldn't have the life I have if you didn't. It doesn't mean that I want you in my life because I lived the most perfect life with my mom and you won't be able to change that. My life wouldn't be the same if you had stuck around and I wouldn't want any other life. You can forget that I exist because I don't want you in my life, but you can rest easy knowing that I forgive you."

Without another word, I turned and walked into the back room, straight into Jace's arms. He held me tight as I willed the tears to come, but they wouldn't fall. I had no more tears to cry over my father, who was never my father. Jace ran his hands along my back as he whispered words of encouragement and how much he loved me in my ear.

"Are you okay," Jace asked cradling my face in his hands and I nodded with a sad smile. He pulled my head back to rest against his chest and sat down on a chair pulling me onto his lap. "What do you want me to do? What do you need from me?"

I leaned back, looking him in the eyes, seeing all the love he had for me and how worried he was. "I just need you." I dipped my head to kiss his lips and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thank you for being here for me. I don't know if I could have done this without you."

"You don't have to thank me for that." He kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes, losing myself in his love. "Did you get your answers?"

"Not really." I said as I shook my head. "I was so ready to get my answers, but when I saw him, I couldn't help the fury that was unleashed and I realized that I didn't need any answers because anything he told me would be an excuse and I didn't want excuses. My mom and I did just fine without him and I don't need to know why he left to make me feel better."

Jace nodded as we fell back into silence. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was close to closing time. I had never wanted to get away from the shop because it had been a place that symbolized our passion, but I wanted to get as far away from the shop as I could that day. Before I got off of Jace's lap, I kissed his temple and gave him a squeeze. We moved through our closing routine in silence and before long, we were walking out the door, ready to head home after a long day.

As we drove home, Jace held my hand between shifting gears and I stared out my window at the ocean. The sun was setting and the sky was a mixture of pinks and oranges and yellows. Jace took a turn and I realized he was pulling up to Break Wall.

"Jace, what are you doing," I asked as he threw the car in park and turned off the engine. "I just want to go home."

"I know you, pretty girl," he said as he hopped out of the car and I followed him around to the back where our boards were waiting for us. "And I know that no matter what you say, you need to be in the water right now. So, grab your board and let's go."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes before I reached up and kissed him. He knew me better than I knew myself. Instead of getting my purple board, though, I got the long board and gave Jace a look that he understood to mean that we were riding tandum and he didn't argue. He simply took the board from me and walked onto the sand as I followed him.

Before long, we were paddling out to the lineup on our knees, our strokes in perfect sync with each other. Once we were to the lineup, I straddled the board and Jace did the same. I looked out to the horizon and could see other islands in the distance. The water was calm and the sun was hanging low in the sky. Everything seemed to be at peace and, for once, I felt at peace about my dad.

Not having a father didn't define me and I had never let it. Sure, I wondered where my dad was, but it mostly went unnoticed. My mom was enough of a parent for both of them. This whole ordeal just made me love and appreciate my mom even more. She truly was amazing.

I felt Jace's hands grasp my waist and pull me back on the board until my back was against his chest. He wrapped his arms around my middle as I leaned back into him and closed my eyes as he rested his chin on my shoulder. I let out a small sigh when he placed a tiny kiss on my neck and I started thinking about the fact that we were going to be married in just a few short days.

In three days, I was going to be Jace's wife and he would be my husband. As my mind wandered off thinking about all the amazing things Isabelle had planned, I felt the waves roll beneath me and Jace's hands run along my skin, conveying his love for me through touch and not words. I didn't even need to ride a wave at that point. Just being in the water, on a board, with Jace in that moment was more calming and reassuring than riding the biggest wave could be.

Jace was my rock, my solid foundation and as long as I had him, nothing would ever seem that bad. Nothing would ever really hurt me because he would protect me and comfort me in hard times, just as I would him.

We were a team and I couldn't possibly think of a better partner to spend the rest of my life with.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading! If you were wanting more of an argument from Valentine, don't worry. I have something planned that should make up for the one-sided confrontation. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Please feel free to let me know what you think and leave a review! :)_


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